Norman Cook’s Acid Ballroom tour played to two packed out crowds at Manchester’s Aviva Studios
Fatboy Slim performing in Manchester at the city’s Aviva Studios as confetti fired into the crowd with Hollywood legend Bill Murray displayed on-screen
Digital love was in the air as iconic dance great Fatboy Slim headlined a Valentine’s Day party at Manchester’s Aviva Studios.
Fatboy, AKA Norman Cook, took to the decks on Saturday evening for his second of two nights in the city as part of his Acid Ballroom tour. The schedule celebrating his 40 years in the music industry – from Housemartin to undisputed club classics great.
The sold out party atmosphere set by the event’s support Elliot Schooling and Liam Palmer. The duo played to a near-full warehouse setting, at the Aviva, around an hour or so before the night’s main event took to the stage.
During a brief interlude from the opening pairing finishing and Fatboy arriving on-stage, a genuinely bouncing version of Pure Shores by All Saints thundered through the Manchester city centre venue.
Ascending, in his trademark floral shirt, all the way from Brighton, the event’s headline act quickly teased snippets from his enviable back catalogue. Rockafeller Skank and Weapon of Choice, alongside Christopher Walken’s iconic choreographed routine on-screen, being aired during the festivities.
Greta Thunberg displayed behind Fatboy Slim during his Manchester show
Other unmistakable songs, from a plethora of genres, were mixed into the set alongside Fatboy Slim calling cards. Homage paid to The Chemical Brothers through Do It Again and Talking Heads, whose lead singer David Bryne will be in Manchester for a series of gigs next month, with a sample of Life During Wartime.
Impressive visuals accompanied the proceedings with tribute given to some greats no longer with us. David Bowie, Prince, Chadwick Boseman and Keith Flint being some of those featured in the striking montages.
In a slightly different tact, Fatboy himself was doctored as a version of Jamie Lee Curtis doing that dance from 1990s film True Lies as part of the video highlights. That’s something which won’t be forgotten in a hurry…
The sound from the perfectly curated setlist reverberated around the warehouse, throbbing passionately, in an ideal fashion. This environment being rather fitting for the Glastonbury legend who you’ll often find at Arcadia or down the Rabbit Hole at Worthy Farm. The whole occasion had that sense of wandering into an unmissable festival party.
The high-quality production welcomed instances of lasers firing into the air. Them illuminating a red Valentines balloon tied to the wrist of one raver which worked its way from the back of the mammoth hall to right in front of Fatboy by the time Saturday night’s 90 minutes of fun had concluded.
Aside from the Fatboy Slim hits, arguably the best received moment of the evening was Cook’s pairing of Underworld’s Born Slippy with Mr Brightside by The Killers. One fan screaming ‘come on, Fatboy!’ as the two fused.
Near Saturday night’s big finale a simple, but impactful, trio of words were displayed on the screen behind Fatboy. They read: “Leave hate behind.”
A worthy message, at any time, but particularly on Valentine’s Day.
Setlist
- Intro/Right Here, Right Now
- Put Your Hands Up (In The Air)
- Rockafeller Skank
- Ya Mama (Push the Tempo)
- I See You Baby
- Role Model
- Ultra Flava
- Funky S**t
- Go Again
- Lazer Beams
- Any Fonque
- Bus Stop Please
- It Just Won’t Do (Club Mix)
- Battery Operated
- Star 69
- Born Slippy/Mr Brightside
- Inside (at night)
- Swimming
- Life During Wartime
- One round
- Love message
- Breathe
- I Wanna Be With You
- Desire
- Eat Sleep Rave Repeat/Discoteka/Renegade Master/Apache
- Praise You
- Play Video
- The Satisfaction Skank