Garbage, Lucia and the Best Boys – O2 Apollo, Manchester (19/7/24)

For a band that have claimed from the beginning of their career that they’re only happy when it rains, drizzly Manchester feels like it should be the perfect home for Garbage. Except they managed to pick what was the hottest day of the year to come and visit, with temperatures in the Apollo already sweltering before the band arrived to turn up the heat even further.

It had been five years since the previous time I had seen Garbage live (well, five years and two days if you really want to be precise). At that show at the Dunfermline Alhambra the band hadn’t seemed in the happiest of states – Butch Vig was absent through ill health and Shirley Manson paced circles around the stage as she sang, seemingly trying to distract herself from the fact she was on stage. Fortunately the 2024 version of the band seemed to be in a far better place.

First up were Glaswegians Lucia and the Best Boys, whose dark electronic indie almost felt like they were designed to be the perfect support band for such an evening as they showcased 2023’s debut album Burning Castles.

But before moving onto the evening’s headliners, one minor rant about concert etiquette. We’ve all had our views blocked by tall people at some point, although even the grumpiest of us have to conceded that people can’t do much about their height. However, no matter how beautifully sunny it is outside there is absolutely no excuse for wearing a wide brimmed sun hat to an indoor concert and blocking off the view of multitudes of people – and there’s only a very flimsy argument for wearing one to an outdoor show!

Starting off with fan favourite #1 Crush, the band mixed in songs from 2021’s No Gods no Masters with their extensive back catalogue, with classics like Vow and Cherry Lips received with particular enthusiasm. Sadly though there was no space for bereak through single Queer or 2017’s standalone dystopian rocker No Horses.

I’m not a fashion expert so I won’t attempt to describe Shirley’s choice of dress for the evening, although hopefully my audience phots convey the radiance she displayed. She seemed reflective mood throughout the set, talking of how at her first gig in Manchester with previous band Goodbye Mr Mackenzie a young band called The Stone Roses supported them, through to discussing the good and seemingly many bad times Garbage had endured over the years. The tone implied Shirley realised that Garbage were closer to their end than their beginning and sadly weeks after this show the band were forced to cancel their remaining live commitments for 2024.

After the main set finished with an explosive performance of Push It, the encore started off with a subdued rendition of Milk, which felt out of place receiving such a prominent position in the set list. But then it was onto the one the audience wanted to hear, with a piano intro leading into Only Happy When it Rains and three and a half thousand fans singing back each line.

Garbage showcased how an experienced band can keep a set based largely on cuts from the nineties sounding fresh and dynamic almost thirty years later. How much longer the band stay on the road for is a question time – whilst Shirley is a relatively youthful 57 the rest of the band are now pushing into their seventies, so catch them whenever an opportunity arises.

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Garbage Performed:

#1 Crush
Godhead
I Think I’m Paranoid
Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)
Special
The Men Who Rule the World
Metal Heart
Run Baby Run
Hammering in My Head
The Creeps
The Trick Is to Keep Breathing
Bleed Like Me
Stupid Girl
Wolves
No Gods No Masters
Cities in Dust
Vow
When I Grow Up
Why Do You Love Me
Push It
—
Milk
Only Happy When It Rains

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Youtube Highlight of the Evening: Don’t worry baby, it’s got to be this video of Push It courtesy of 4orty8ight.