A ticket to an AJR show doesn’t just guarantee you a great night of music, it also doubles as one of the biggest serotonin boosts money can buy. The American indie pop trio composed of multi-instrumentalist brothers Adam, Jack, and Ryan are pioneers when it comes to live performances, consistently producing some of the most enjoyable tours in the music industry. And their most recent Ok Orchestra tour is just another feather in the bands cap. The boys are deep into their biggest European tour to date, seeing the band take over some of Europe’s biggest venues for a whole night of fun. The tour is in support of the “OK Orchestra” album which was released in 2021 and we were lucky enough to be in the presence of AJR as they took over Manchester’s iconic O2 Apollo for a near-sold out show. Support for the night came from the amazing Ryan Mack.
As the lights in the historic venue faded out and screams poured in, a giant 3D face appeared on the massive LED screen at the back of the stage and it began to welcome the crowd to the show. Swiftly after this, the brothers took to the stage with frontman Jack Met bursting out like a loose ball of energy and the band got the night underway with the track ‘Bummerland’. The night was full of electricity, beautiful trumpet solos and a personal highlight was witnessing the giant lit up stickmen which performed a dance routine to the bands’ music, it was like nothing I’d ever seen before and I don’t think I’ve ever laughed as much during a concert. Another incredible part of this tours production was the giant treadmill underneath the previously mentioned screen as Jack Met would take to the treadmill throughout the night and mirror the actions of the visuals on the LED Screen, making it look like he was a part of the screen. It was a simple but incredibly thought-out part of the show and just highlights the time and effort that AJR, and their devoted team, put into these gigantic tours and the fact that they pull these off across multiple dates is just mind-blowing! AJR would go on to perform several fan favourites from their discography like ‘Bang!’, ‘Sober Up’ and the current TikTok viral sensation ‘World’s Smallest Violin’. It was without a doubt the most cathartic concert I’ve ever been a part of and witnessed and I left grinning ear to ear like the rest of Manchester crowd in attendance and I’m already counting down the days to a new AJR tour gets announced.
AJR
Photos + Review by Lewis Roberts | Exclusively for Music, Why Not!