The Streets live in Manchester: “We just need to love our neighbours”

The lights dimmed as an ominous synth melody introduced each instrumentalist, each lit from behind with blue, fluorescent light. Anticipating frontman Mike Skinner’s arrival, the crowd made a harsh nudge to the front, compact and sweaty even before the first song. On walked Mike Skinner with veteran vocalist Kevin Mark Trail, who has accompanied The Streets since their 2000s UK garage days. As the infamous strings of ‘Turn the Page’ commenced, we were transported right back to the beginning: track one of the debut album, 2002's Original Pirate Material.

The Streets' transition from old to new was seamless, as the EDM synthesiser of ‘Who’s Got The Bag?’ erupted the crowd into a sea of disorientating mosh-pits and skankers. An ode to the absence of club culture in the COVID-19 lockdown, it felt like a lifetime since Skinner first uttered the slurring “21^st of June” lyrics that now had the freedom to echo through the venue.

Kevin Mark Trail’s presence was as strong as ever, ‘Let’s Push Things Forward’ and ‘Don’t Mug Yourself’ offering a reminder of Skinner and Trail’s earliest projects. The whole set was underlined with musical collaborations and references, a theme in much of Skinner's work as he approaches his trade with a collectivism unlike most. Whether it be working alongside grime royalty Kano, covering Fred Again..’s ‘Mike (desert island duvet)’, or bringing alternative hip hop artist Master Peace on stage for ‘Wrong Answers Only’, Skinner certainly practised what he preaches when he shouted for the crowd to “love thy neighbour.” It was this appreciation of other musical talent that made The Streets so special: their influences abundant, their music covering all ground.

Credit: Molly Dodge-Taylor @ The Mancunion

This was proven as the setlist intertwined heavy basslines with more reflective tracks. Best exemplified by inserts from 2008's Everything is Borrowed, the picking strings of ‘The Escapist’ and triumphant ‘Everything is Borrowed’ were both opportunities for a pause from endless dancing. Skinner also seemed to appreciate these moments. As the piano melody of ‘On the Edge of a Cliff’ began, he took a pause to remind the crowd of the history of O2 Victoria Warehouse. “I’m not taking any sh*t from you,” he shouted, “We are in the Liverpool Warehouse company tonight. This place was built by Scousers.” Met with a mix of boos and cheers, he persisted on: “Are you saying you cannot put aside your hatred for a couple hours before I go off to DJ? […] With all that is going on in the world, you can’t celebrate your neighbours?”

Whilst he may not have been able to rectify centuries worth of regional tensions, at its core, Skinner sought to unify the audience, claiming he would “exorcise the f*ck out of this hatred.” He went on to split the audience into two halves. The crowd pushed to either side until there was a clear pathway running to the end of the warehouse, all reaching their hands out to the frontman as if in worship. He sprinted down the pathway, delivered a pint to the end of the warehouse, then crowd-surfed his way back to the stage.

Credit: S.J.M. Concerts

Nothing, however, could match the unification that ‘Fit but You Know It’ achieved. The audience certainly embraced the 'geezer culture' that is consistently referenced in Original Pirate Material. With pints flying overhead, the song was a catalyst for the most chaotic mosh-pit yet. As Skinner bounced across the stage, it was The Streets in their truest and best-known form. The audience shifted from chaos to the melancholic, unanimous chorus of ‘Dry Your Eyes’, as Skinner sang out “there’s plenty more fish in the sea” and it was echoed back to him in harmonious unity.

Ensuring not to linger on the solemn atmosphere too long, the garage beat of ‘Take Me As I Am’ saw out the night. The Streets reminded everyone of the awful hangovers they would most certainly suffer the next morning, but it felt like a small sacrifice for the night that had occurred. Reminding the audience that “we just need to love our neighbours” upon exit, we left Victoria Warehouse still buzzing from the final beats of ‘Take Me As I Am’.