So Long, Farewell Tour

Motion City Soundtrack, Dinosaur Pile Up, The Xcerts and Lacey

Manchester O2 Ritz and Birmingham O2 Institute

August 17th and 18th, 2016

Motion City Soundtrack are a band that have been on my 'to see' list for a few years now. I've heard so many people rave about how great they are but I never actually got round to seeing them, so when they announced their final tour I knew that it was now or never!

The tour then got even better as they announced support from Dinosaur Pile Up, The Xcerts and Lacey.  Now the tour was an absolute must!

I booked tickets for both the Manchester and Birmingham shows, and although I would have loved to go to the London show my finances just wouldn't stretch that far.

First up each night was Lacey.  Any regular visitors to this blog know that I have seen Lacey many times and they never fail to put on a good show. 

Lacey hail from Nottingham and consist of Graham on vocals, Dave on drums,  and Josh, Pete and Pete on guitar.

Although they had a relatively short set, they managed to cram it full with songs from their latest EP; 'I Don't Owe The World A Thing'.  

Starting with 'Hoax' they started with a bang and the energy and performance continued right the way through the set, which also included  'Ghost While I'm Alive' and 'Take Me Home'.

We also got an exclusive of their new song 'Carry Me On My Way', which was played for the very first time at the Manchester show and a cheeky cover of Blink 182's 'Dammit', before they ended with 'Shadow'.

I've seen many performances by Lacey and these two shows, although short sets,  were definitely their best performances to date.    These guys seem to get better and better each time I see them, and after hearing the new song I'm looking forward to hearing what they have in store for us with album number two.

Next up were The Xcerts from Aberdeen,  who are a trio made up of Murray on vocals and guitar, Jordan on bass  and Tom on drums. 

I had been introduced to the Xcerts by a friend a few weeks ago and after hearing their album was really looking forward to hearing them. 

Although they also had a short set, they managed to squeeze a whopping seven songs into it, including 'Live Like This', 'Kids On Drugs', 'I Don't Care', 'He Sinks, She Sleeps', 'Slackerpop' and my favourite 'Shaking In The Water', which I loved on the album and loved even more live.

Finishing with 'There Is Only You', they left me wanting to hear more and wondering how come the first two bands were over so quickly.

Third on the bill was Leeds based band Dinosaur Pile Up, comprising of Matt on vocal and guitar, Michael on drums and Jim on bass.

These guys describe themselves as post grunge and do have a very grunge feel about them.

This set again was a short set containing only 7 songs, including 'Arizona Waiting', 'Peninsula', Grim Valentine', 'White T-shirt and Jeans', 'Might As Well', 'Friend of Mine' and '11:11'.

Although I wasn't as familiar with this band I still really enjoyed their set and by the second show I knew I would have a trip to the record store and would most likely be seeing them again when I got the chance. 

Headlining tonight were American rock band Motion City Soundtrack, from Minnesota.

On the 11 March 2016, Motion City Soundtrack posted a simple message on their Facebook page explaining to fans that 'for now we are done'.

Following demand they are embarking on their farewell tour which is taking them across many states and countries, and this week they played their final three dates in the UK.

Consisting of Justin on Vocals and guitar, Joshua on guitar, Jesse on keyboards, Matthew on bass and Tony on drums, the quintet have had almost twenty years in the industry.

Motion City Soundtrack kicked their set off with 'Back To The Beat' and a whole heap of energy, which was maintained right the way through their set.

Once they took to the stage it became evident why the other three bands had only had short slots as they knocked out song after song including 'It Had To Be You', 'When You're Around', 'My Favourite Accident', 'A Life Less Ordinary (Need A Little Help)' and 'Everything is Alright' to name but a few.

Motion City Soundtrack managed to squeeze a massive 20 songs into their main set and a further three in the encore, ensuring fans heard at least one of their  favourite songs.

Finishing with 'Anything At All', 'Even If It Kills Me' and 'The Future Freaks Me Out', they left the crowd wondering why a band this good would be calling it a day.

It's a shame that the UK leg of the tour was only for three days as I would have happily watched all four bands night after night on a longer run. Although I may never get the chance to see Motion City Soundtrack play live again, the tour has led me to discover Dinosaur Pile Up and The Xcerts, who I will definitely be checking out the next time they are in town.  As for Lacey, I have already booked tickets for their next show.