LIVE REVIEW: Fireball: Fuelling The Fire Tour 2019 @ O2 Ritz, Manchester

In the time since its inception back in 2016, the Fireball: Fuelling The Fire Tour has managed to very much insert itself a yearly tradition in the UK gig calendar, bringing over some of the very best names in punk rock, ska-punk and everything in-between for one big Fireball-fuelled country-wide trek. This year topped by co-headliners LESS THAN JAKE and GOLDFINGER, the 2019 edition of the much-loved tour sees also sees the likes of SAVE FERRIS and THIEVES OF LIBERTY and a whole host of local opening bands as it winds its way across the UK. With an undoubtedly fun evening on the cards, we trekked over to the O2 Ritz in Manchester to see how they’d all get on.

With barely 20 minutes between doors opening and their set, and with the Manchester weather looking on the verge of doing its best biblical flood impression, it unfortunately feels like Fireball: Fuelling The Fire Tour‘s local opener competition winners WELL DONE YOU are sent out to an O2 Ritz that can’t have more than about 30 people inside, staff included, as they walk onto the stage. With precious little time to make an impact, Mike Lawetto and co. try their best to impress the gathering of early-comers but unfortunately, they’re also plagued with sound issues for the majority of their time onstage as well, with blasts of ear-piercing feedback booming out from Lawetto’s microphone frequently enough to rob the unfortunate Manc of the vast majority of his impact – with things only really clearing up properly during penultimate number Jackhammer, by which point it’s too late for them to really rescue things.

Rating: 4/10

Sunderland quartet THIEVES OF LIBERTY fare significantly better by comparison once they arrive; with all tech gremlins seemingly eradicated during the changeover, the North East band are simply able to plough full steam ahead into a set packed to the brim with infectious energy that gets the now-gradually-filling room moving properly for the first time this evening. Powerhouse vocalist/rhythm guitarist Lidya Balaban instantly endears herself to those present, her at-times stunning delivery flitting between a soulful bluesy croon, and out-and-out classic rock roar on the likes of Are You Ready? proving a genuine joy to behold; and a natural jovial charisma during crowd interaction that really helps to lift the mood and set the tone for what’s to come.

Rating: 7/10

It’s been six years now since Monique Powell decided to reactivate Orange County ska-punks SAVE FERRIS after from a decade-long hiatus, and if anything, tonight’s showing on the Fireball: Fuelling The Fire Tour from the six-piece is proof that doing so was a wonderful decision on her part. Fantastically engaging from the off, and providing the first proper ska-punk dose of the evening thanks to the combined brass tones of Alex Csillag on trombone and Max O’Leary on trumpet, SAVE FERRIS are nothing short of an absolute revelation tonight – practically stealing the show from the evening’s co-headliners at points with a set that adeptly melds bouncy original songs from their classic canon with a wide-range of ska-infused covers; ranging from a riotous Come On Eileen by DEXYS MIDNIGHT RUNNERS, to uptempo punk staples like Too Drunk To Fuck by DEAD KENNEDYS, and Artificial Life by ska-punk titans OPERATION IVY.

Powell herself is obviously the focal point of the whole affair, with a grin-inducing cheekiness to her on-stage persona as she throws out increasingly dirty quips throughout the set and seems to strip off into a different costume between practically every song, but nothing ever fully distracts from the solid musical performances A slight sneak peek of things to come proves arguably one of the highest points, with GOLDFINGER mainman John Feldman suddenly appearing from one side to duet with the band on a bouncy cover of She Has A Girlfriend Now by REEL BIG FISH, before the band cap things off on the aforementioned DEXYS cover, which everyone in the building seems to know every last word to, and proves a triumphant end to a brilliant performance.

Rating: 9/10

GOLDFINGER are of course up next, and send the massive contingent of their fanbase instantly wild with an opening of Spokesman and Counting The Days from the 2002 album of the same name. The five-piece (tonight bolstered by NEW FOUND GLORY sticksman Cyrus Bolooki sitting in on drums for Nick Gross) have long been held up as one of the most important bands to emerge from the third-wave ska movement, and tonight John Feldman pledges he and his band will play “both types of music – ska AND punk”.

Taking something from nearly every one of their seven albums, GOLDFINGER’s set does indeed expertly straddle the line between both genres, but it’s the more classic material that obviously draws the biggest response – Here In Your Bedroom from their 1996 self-titled debut in particular causing a mass crowdsurfing outbreak as several hundred people bellow “Cause I still feel the same” straight back in Feldman’s evidently delighted face. On the newer side of things, several cuts from 2017’s The Knife make themselves known throughout the set too, with the breakneck pace of almost-title-track Put The Knife Away proving perhaps the best of the bunch. As with SAVE FERRIS before them, there’s a couple of cheeky covers in GOLDFINGER’s set too – a quick blast of iconic Britpop single Song 2 by BLUR proves a perfect opportunity for the entire room to bellow along, whilst a snippet of THE REMBRANDTS’ 1995 single I’ll Be There For You (yes, the theme song from Friends) proves as delightful as it is completely out of nowhere, as Feldman can’t help but jokingly quip about it being an original. Eventually closing off on their version of 99 Red Balloons by NENA, the members of GOLDFINGER leave the stage having put on a damn-near masterclass, and very much throw the gauntlet down to tonight’s closing act.

Rating: 9/10

You might think that following such a high energy set might be an impossible ask for most bands, but luckily, LESS THAN JAKE are having absolutely none of it; bursting out onto the stage and immediately kicking into Gainesville Rock City to the frantic delight of seemingly the entire O2 Ritz. Much like GOLDFINGER before them, the Gainesville five-piece seem intent on pulling from as much of their career as possible tonight, which in reality equates to everything from Johnny Quest Thinks We’re Sellouts from 1995’s Pezcore to Things Change from their 2017 EP Sound The Alarm making appearances across their lengthy set. Outstanding vocal interplay between de-facto frontman/guitarist Chris DeMakes and bassist Roger Lima is pretty much the order of the day for much of LESS THAN JAKE’s set on this occasion, but the response is never stronger as during the multiple times they dip into their classic album Hello Rockview – with classic anthems like History of a Boring Town and Motto sprinkled liberally across the setlist.

In fact, that album ends up forming 3/4 of the band’s eventual final encore, with only The Rest Of My Life separating classic cuts Nervous In The Alley, All My Best Friends Are Metalheads and Last One Out Of Liberty City. Before all that though, the rest of the evening sees the Floridians on incredible form, and it’s at times very easy to forget that this is a band now 27 years deep into a career that’s seen them essentially become one of the figureheads of an entire sub-genre. Tracks like The Science of Selling Yourself Short and She’s Gonna Break Soon deftly display the knack for impossibly catchy melodies they’d perfected by the early 2000s, and as time rolls on across their set tonight, you really get a sense of just how they’ve managed to stay enduringly popular for so long – by simply just being a great band.

Rating: 8/10

Check out our photo gallery from all the action of Fireball: Fuelling The Fire Tour’s stop in Manchester from Sabrina Ramdoyal Photography here: