LOWER THAN ATLANTIS - 15TH DECEMBER REVIEW

Lower than Atlantis, I went to see them at the O2 Academy Ritz in Manchester on the 15th December and what a night it was. Not only were the band fantastic, but their support band AS IT IS were also incredible, along with an interesting meal in a restaurant I'd only ever dreamed of...

The evening started by picking up my good friend from my flat, we drove down the motorway to realise that we were probably going to be stuck in traffic for at least 20 minutes more than we were expecting. A, being a walking, talking sat-nav decided that we were going to go a different way that supposedly had little traffic - I was skeptical, however it's hard to argue with him.

Eventually we got there, and as he was directing us to the restaurant, he still hadn't told me where we were going - so this left me guessing and I really wasn't in the mood after not eating since lunch time. Anyhow, we ended up in a place called Bem Brazil, which I'd never heard of before, but it sounded intriguing and unfortunately it was my turn to pay, so I hoped it wasn't expensive (I was wrong, £30 a head!). The restaurant worked in a way that I'd never seen before, men walked around with skewers of meat, these were all sorts, ranging from chicken wrapped in bacon, gamon, all kinds of steak, turkey, lamb etc. There was a lot of choice, and for vegetables, carbohydrates, sauces, you had to go up to the buffet bar and get your own - so it was an all you can eat, but with plates piled high with lots of different meats. In addition to this you had cards placed down which were either green or red, the green means "yes, come to us we want all the meats", and no meant well, no. This was the first time I'd ever experienced anything like this, but it really was delicious.

As we strolled to the gig,through the Manchester Christmas Markets (and also getting a bit lost en route), we finally got to the Ritz. A has always been funny about going to gigs where there are no seats, he always "wants the option", which just makes me laugh, but is quite true. We managed to fight our way upstairs and get a good position on the right hand side as you look at the stage.

The band came on and it was amazing, they began with a white sheet covering the stage, but eventually as the first song came on, everyone was captivated. I love their new album, I think it's great, but everyone else was just going mad. There were a few guys starting what's known as a "mosh pit" but it looked harsh and painful - the girls didn't look impressed anyhow. Aside from that, the boys put on a really good show, I can't fault them in any way, and they played all of my favourite songs which makes everything better.

I would definitely recommend their self-titled debut album on the record label they've signed to, as it was definitely something that captured my attention, even if I didn't really like the genre of music - now I love it! I'd also recommend trying to see them live if you can, but try and learn the words before going, because the entire audience knew them and you don't want to feel left out!

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