Sleaford Mods (with Big Special) Unpick British Society at Manchester Victoria Warehouse [Show Review]

After a glorious hot summer of festivals and outdoor gigs, I need something special to warm my cockles on this zero-degree night in Trafford Park, the morning frost still not thawed and a sea of red running noses queueing up outside the Victoria Warehouse.

If anyone knows how to heat up a room, it’s Sleaford Mods, and on their current tour, they are bringing along Big Special, who could well be future rivals to the Mods, but there is a sense of kinship between the bands, cemented by Andrew Fearn’s Big Special T-shirt which he wears proudly tonight.

The vast Warehouse space is blowing cold air at the crowd, which isn’t entirely welcoming, but as the hardcore snuggle together near the front, an atmosphere and a warmth builds and Big Special arrives just in time.

The similarities between tonight’s band are obvious, two blokes from middle England shouting intelligent left-wing lyrics over a backing track, but Big Special is unique and no less entertaining.

Using pounding drums, via Callum Moloney’s impressive skin-beating skills, as the lead instrument makes for an exhilarating experience. Paired with Joe Hicklin’s incredible vocal range, there is nobody else doing what Big Special is doing out there right now, and as the name suggests, this is special.

The opening song immediately recalls The Mighty Fall’s Your Future, Our Clutter era, which is absolutely no bad thing, Mark E Smith being the originator of Shouty British polemics with prominent drums throughout all of the band’s many lineups. The band has an album out in December, which will give fans more to listen to outside of the few songs currently available from the band, but what great songs they are.

“This Here Ain’t Water” is pure poetry, delivered with sheer bombast, anthemic and powerful from the opening line. “Desperate Breakfast” delivers the kind of British societal lyrics of The Kinks, Blur and Early Arctics, but with staccato attacks of Hicklin’s raging diatribes throughout. This factor is even more pronounced in fan favourite “Shithouse,” as Hicklin delivers the opening lyrics in a full-on rage before reverting to softer tones, sounding uncannily like Alex Kapranos. The recorded version of this song shows even more variations in Hicklin’s vocal delivery.

If Big Special aren’t massive by this time next year, then there is something seriously wrong with the country, and I’m sure they’ll be the first to tell us about it.

Sleaford Mods tonight are a revelation. This is my fourth Mods gig, and every time a transformation of some sort appears to have taken place. Tonight, it’s the animation of Andrew Fearn. Once, the Chris Lowe of the duo, standing not quite stock still behind his laptop but jerking to and fro in a mesmeric trance. Throughout tonight’s gig he is dancing, taking in the entire stage like a tribal Bez, and ensuring that the majority of the crowd are doing similar.

Jason Williamson is as entertaining as ever, clearly loving this bizarre niche that he has chosen to follow. His performance tonight is continually interrupted with parrot squawks and a water bottle almost permanently perched on his head. His stage movements are equally as surreal, crouching and bending, arse in the air whilst still flicking the back of his head when the lyrics become too intense.

The setlist is interesting tonight: 25 songs, which include ten from their latest album, UK GRIM, and some tracks for hardcore fans that pre-date their long-awaited rise to fame.

The title track of the album kicks the night off and ignites chants from the audience from the start. The sound is good and immediately prompts the whole room to follow Williamson’s spasmodic movements. Followed by “On the Ground” and “Pit 2 Pit” from the same album, the band takes a U-turn with “In Quiet Streets” from 2015’s Key Markets and then straight back with “Big Pharma” from their recent MORE UK GRIM E.P.

In recent years, Sleaford Mods have collaborated with others more frequently, particularly on their last two albums. This has led to extensive use of pre-recorded backing vocals being played at their gigs, starting with Florence Shaw (Dry Cleaning) making a voice-only appearance on “Force 10” from Navarone. Thankfully, it works, and each virtual guest (Billy Nomates, Amy Taylor and Perry Farrell) is duly name-checked and thanked.

“£5.60” from 2012’s limited-release Wank album is given an outing tonight in an even mightier nod to the fans who have been there from the start.

In more frantic moments like “Tilldipper,” Williamson is on full manic form, but perhaps it is the quieter moment that resonates the most in this enormous live space. “Smash Each Other Up” takes on a whole new life and becomes mesmerizing in the thick of it, and similarly, “Mork and Mindy” becomes trancelike.

The band is currently publicizing and raising money for Shelter, and their single to accompany the campaign, a cover of The Pet Shop Boys’ “West End Girls,” is included in the set. Whilst a pretty straightforward cover, the humour of imagining the soft-spoken King’s English of Neil Tennant contrasted with the shouty Williamson isn’t lost on the audience.

Favourites are held to the end with blistering renditions of UK GRIM highlight, “Tory Kong,” complete with Fearn in full Tutankhamen mode, “Nudge It,” and “Tied up in Nottz” which includes the classic line “The smell of piss is so strong it smells like decent bacon.”

At the risk of sounding obvious, “Jobseeker” remains their finest moment and is played out with the usual gusto tonight, followed by gig closer “Tweet Tweet Tweet” in tight second place. Any recollections of a cold night are far gone, and the icy blast of the night now serves as a welcome cooler to the many hot, sweaty bodies pouring from the warehouse.

Sleaford Mods are still relatively underground in the grand scheme of things but remain Britain’s most relevant and consistently excellent act. To miss catching them on tour would be nothing less than foolish and rude.