GIG REVIEW: Three Days Grace @ Manchester Apollo, with Badflower
The grand return of the 2000’s rock scene essentials Three Days Grace to Manchester O2 Apollo grasped the attention of many, as the queue down the road on Friday night, wrapped around multiple streets, people of all ages stood patiently in the bitter cold as we waited for the night to begin.
The evening began with Los Angeles rockers, Badflower, who performed a blistering 50 minute set. Opening with Drop Dead, Badflower have a punchy raw style, showing off frontman’s Josh Katz’s powerful vocals while tackling brutally honest lyrics in songs like Family and Move Me. The pace picks up a little with Stalker with punchy punk elements, and the crowd gets moving, but prepare quickly as Josh launches himself atop the audience for a manic ending to the song while crowd surfing. Heroin is dark and powerful, with heartbreaking lyrics. For the people who like Palaye Royale and Royal Blood, get to checking these out! They definitely warmed up the crowd just right ahead of time for the main act.
The Alienation Tour has been highly anticipated, specially due to the return of original frontman Adam Gontier, who had previously left the band in 2013, performing alongside Matt Walst, who’s been manning the helm throughout albums Human, Outsider and Explosion. This is the first time we get to see both singers share the stage, and the energy is nothing short of harmonious and supportive. They launch straight into Dominate as their opening track, and dominate they did. The two singers complemented each other—Adam’s gritty, emotional delivery balanced by Matt’s smoother, modern edge. Animal I Have Become was next, from the band’s 2006 breakthrough album One-X, and the audience almost immediately start clapping along. The nostalgia smacks into the room full force, almost making it impossible to hear the lyrics in the chorus due to the crowd shouting it at top volume.
The setlist I believe was balanced perfectly between the two eras of the band, showcasing plenty of tracks from both when both singers have been the solo frontman. From So Called Life (2022), to Home (2003), The Mountain (2018) and Pain (2006), the night ping-pong between generations seamlessly. The iconic intro of I Hate Everything About You starts, and I am absolutely deafened by the crowd roaring at the top of their lungs. Heads are whipping back and forth and the floorboards are bound to loosen up due to the amount of bouncing going on to this monumental classic track. Apologies, from the new album, swells as the notes mix and soar effortlessly.
The crowd then drop into silence as Adam is alone on the stage with his guitar and a single spotlight, and plays the opening chords to Radiohead’s Creep. His vocals warm yet haunting, every word resounding off the walls The audience respond to this this timed claps, and a throng of unified voices joining him in time for that soaring “RUN” towards the end. It was hard not to get emotional during this, seeing Adam kill this note and taking in the entire room singing this note with him.
I Am Machine, Painkiller and Never Too Late almost fly by, and before we know it, Matt is screaming RIOT to the crowd to scream back, before “I wanna see you guys go fucking crazy, let’s start a fucking riot!”. The floor opens up in a perfect circle, waiting eagerly for the chorus to bounce into a mini mosh pit.
As the final notes rang out, and the crowd roared, Three Days Grace tore the roof off Manchester with a night of catharsis, resilience and reunion.
Words and Photos by Neve Saltmarsh
