The Pop Corporation

If you haven’t been to New Century Hall in Manchester, you’re missing out on an absolute jewel on the gig circuit – original fittings, mid-century gorgeousness, a huge and spectacular ceiling and sprung dancefloor, it felt very right that The Lemon Twigs were stepping out here. The D’Addario Bros & friends – all multi-instrumentalists and lovers of all things ’60s and ’70s – all the stars had aligned for a show that just felt right.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves, because the show wasn’t just about The Lemon Twigs. Support came from the utterly brilliant Tchotchke – another NYC formed group that draw inspiration from similar periods, even if from slightly different angles. Their LP was one of the highlights of 2022 and full to bursting with hooks and melodrama, with echoes of The Shangri Las, the Carrie Nations from ‘Beyond the Valley of the Dolls’, Wings, and all that great sugary popsike from the mid-to-late ’60s. Fiercely talented, the girls took to the stage and soon enough, the room filled up for them as they rattled through the excellent ‘Ronnie’, ‘Don’t Hang Up On Me’, ‘Dizzy’, and more.

It’s refreshing to see a show where the support act are every bit as good as the headliner – there’s a confidence to a decision like that where everyone can have a cool night out, rather than wading through a lesser act to get to the reason you bought the ticket. And rest assured, in any other setting, Tchotchke would have been near impossible to follow. Three part harmonies, solos, honey-dipped melodies, too-cool-to-smile, gear changes during songs – it’s criminal that this band aren’t gigantically huge. No offence to the Twigs, but Tchotchke were the reason we bought our tickets in the first place.

And, as ‘tchotchke’ is a term for ‘trinket’, the band gave anyone buying merch from them after their set a small keepsake, which is beyond cute.

By the time the Twigs walked on stage, the room was ready and on the strength of the new LP, we were in for a treat. ‘In My Head’, ‘I Wanna Prove To You’, ‘Any Time Of Day’, ‘The One’, and ‘As Long As We’re Together’ all set the room on fire, but a cheeky cover of ‘No Milk Today’ by Herman’s Hermits and ‘I’ll Be Back’ by The Beatles gave the show a shot in the arm.

However, away from the swapping of instruments and diving onto whatever mic was nearest, Townsend jumps and Michael’s trademark high-kicks (seriously – we’re worried about his hamstrings and crotch seams), there’s an argument that the room was most bewitched for the beginning of the encore with a gorgeous reading of ‘When Winter Comes Around’ and ‘Corner Of My Eye’, not that we’re picking favourites here. Michael’s energy and good time boogie was every bit as needed as Brian’s more lyrical moments. It goes without saying that the Lemon Twigs have an abundance of ideas and sometimes, it’s in danger of spiralling out of control, but jesus christ, these boys were tight.

Tchotchke played their part in a great show, and the Twigs were divebombing and displaying a frankly gorgeous hair (seriously, Michael, drop the hair care regime) throughout – it was a stylish show with a great crowd and in both instances, there was a palpable sense of being there. What do we mean by that? Well, sometimes you hear of older heads being at shows of bands you wish you could’ve seen, and this was two of those very bands.

There were ultra-devoted fans, people who just wanted to listen to some good time rock ‘n’ roll, and others who were there for the sheer spectacle of it all. Two great bands going toe-to-toe and it was magic.