Review: The Rasmus – The Ritz, Manchester

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It being Halloween, and also absolutely throwing it down, makes for very good mood-setting for seeing a band that were just barely on the precipice of the pop-punk and emo sound when it was big, as well as giving you the feeling they certainly won’t let you down: Finnish multi-platinum selling rock band The Rasmus.

The evening starts with support from an Italian group called Overlaps, who I’ve admittedly never heard of before, but who do an incredible job warming the crowd up right off the bat. They supported The Rasmus on their previous tour, and you can tell from the high energy – especially from their vocalist Gloria – that they’ve definitely earned that place on this one too. Their songs blend together well, upbeat leading into the melancholic and then bouncing right back again. When they’re finished, they’ve done a perfect, seamless job of getting everyone hyped for the night, as well as gaining themselves new fans – or at least one in myself.

There’s no high-strung wait for The Rasmus, but everyone still loses it when they come out, to dimmed lights and the pulse of a heartbeat, clearly eager to do what they do. They have a great back-and-forth with the crowd right from the get-go, which includes graciously playing along with the blown-up balloons that definitely weren’t there a moment ago. There are barely any real gaps as they jump between songs, or into effortless dialogue. Vocalist Lauri Ylönen and bassist Eero Heinonen have been with each other the longest, and they have a great trade-off with each other that brings in the crowd with ease too.

They make sure to bring up just how good their new guitarist is too, and I can’t help but agree. Emppu Suhonen matched their energy well on the recently released studio album ‘Rise’, and she does so now on stage – that is, if she doesn’t surpass them for sheer vivacity. She’s energetic on top of being an exceptionally good guitarist, and when she launches into a solo, the rest of the band stops to watch her in a way that means you know they’re genuinely enjoying having her in the band and performing with them. About halfway through the whole set, drummer Aki Hakala comes up to the front of the stage with a smaller kit, and they all perform together in a tight-knit group. The closeness is real and familiar, and they encourage the audience to sing along with them even when it’s pared back like this. There’s a communal feeling to it.

The sense of community does continue when, as a Halloween treat, we get a cover of the Ghostbuster’s Theme Song, and naturally, every person there gets in on the call and response. Presumably, because we’re in Manchester, Heinonen also treats us to part of Oasis’ ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ before we’re taken into their Eurovision hit ‘Jezebel’, to finish off an excellent show with a touching mixture of a tribute and a real bang.

Review – El Vipond

Photo credit: Venla Shalin