Irish rock band, The Script, performed their sold-out arena show in Manchester as part of their Freedom Child Tour. After playing in Leeds the night before, the Irish lads came to Manchester Arena with an incredible amount of energy.
The fans filled every single spot in the cavernous venue and waited impatiently for the band to show up on stage. The waiting paid off and once the lighting in the arena dimmed, fans started screaming excitedly, looking forward to seeing what The Script had in store for them.
The show started with an intro of several messages from fans about what freedom means to them, followed by their favourite lyric from ‘Freedom Child’. The task which was encouraged by the band through their social media only a few weeks before the tour began.
Not long after, the curtain which surrounded the B stage located at the back of the arena lifted to reveal the three members of The Script, lead vocalist Danny O’Donoghue, lead guitarist Mark Sheehan and drummer Glen Power.
Their show opener was ‘Superheroes’, a popular track from their previous album, ‘No Sound Without Silence’, released in 2014. The energy provided by the band, shortly transmitted to their fans who proved that no matter how much time passed, The Script’s lyrics and songs are not easy to forget.
The first representative of their latest record, ‘Freedom Child’, was ‘Rock the World’, which followed closely after the first song. The alert tempo and The Script’s lively spirit got everyone in the audience dancing and jumping, making it impossible for anyone to stand still.
‘Paint the Town Green’ was the song that moved the three members of the band on the main stage. Danny, Mark and Glen marched on the army-ish rhythms, created mostly by the sound of drums, through the space left between the standing and the seating area. Of course, the fans did not miss the opportunity of at least giving one of the members a hi five.
‘It’s Not Right for You’ got the whole audience chanting the harmonising part of the song and thousands of voices packed inside the spacious arena seemed millions. Even though the fans engaged in all of the songs, this particular one created a some kind of ‘contest’ between the left and right side of the venue who took turns at singing the part at the sign of Danny, who debuted his bleached blond locks.
‘The Man Who Can’t Be Moved’ started with an acoustic version sang along by the audience. At the end of the song, the fans could not suppress their excitement anymore and started screaming, leaving the band with no words for several seconds. Manchester is always a loud crowd!
During ‘Wonders’, Danny got off stage and climbed the security fence, to join the fans for a moment much to their delight, before taking his place back on stage.
The set contained other songs like ‘Six Degrees of Separation’, ‘Arms Open’, ‘Nothing’, ‘No Man Is an Island’, ‘If You Could See Me Now’, balancing the up tempos with some slower ones.
Towards the end of ‘For The First Time’, the three Irishmen walked off stage and joined the audience who were already on cloud nine. ‘If You Ever Come Back’ and ‘Never Seen Anything Quite Like You’ were all performed in entirety from within the crowd.
“We want to break the barrier tonight.”
‘Rain’ was the last song on the main set and during this performance; some of the fans brought their umbrellas and lifted them over their heads. Always prepared for the Manchester weather.
“For you who supported us from the beginning, thank you, and for those who are here for the first time, welcome to The Script family.”
After going backstage for a couple of minutes, the band came back for the encore, delivering the performance of ‘No Good in Goodbye’, ‘Breakeven’ and a special performance of ‘Hall of Fame’. During the show closer, the band were joined on stage by Parrs Wood High School Harmony Choir and Danny asked everyone in the audience to turn their flashes on, “to make a moment”.
“We are staying together, Manchester. This album is about freedom… the freedom of expression, to love who you want to love, to be who you want to be, to say what you want to say with no fear. Never fear.”
The production played an important role in last night’s show. The confetti, curtain of sparks and the lighting were enough to provide the audience eye-catching moments and embellish the already incredible performance.
Their Freedom Child Tour just started, but The Script are better and better every time. Fans of The Script got a lot more than they had bargained for with the band making such a large arena feel that bit more intimate.
