The Barr Brothers + Team Me, 03/05/12, Soup Kitchen, Manchester

“Are there many people in there?” isn't a question you’d expect to hear from Brad Barr. Standing outside the Soup Kitchen, a somewhat gloomy space but in essence a dilapidated cellar, he utters this question with a sense of anticipation. He’s met with the reply of’ “I’m not going to lie mate, not really” from one of the venue workers. Although The Barr Brothers may be garnering gushing acclaim in America, thanks to their recent appearance on The David Letterman Show, the 30 or so people here tonight for their first UK show highlights that the same can’t be said this side of the water.

An ornate harp already dominates the cramped stage; the harpist wears an oversized ring that captures the light with every elegant pluck of the strings. But an unperturbed start from the Montreal quartet, fails to stir any response and is steeped with a degree of monotony. It was as they hurtled through ‘Lord I Just Can’t Keep From Cryin’, a track imbued with a gritty, blues rock feel and most strikingly similar to a track The Black Keys would muster up, that their performance quickly became far more potent and a surging wall of sound erupted around the echoing room. It was also at this point that a father and son  placed their drinks to the floor and produced booming claps, as if they were proud parents.

Their stage set up was quite fascinating; a bicycle wheel acted as a cymbal on the drum kit, a guitar was played with a violin bow, and Brad Barr began to pull at a string from his guitar as if he was removing a handkerchief from a magician’s top hat. It was almost hypnotic and it’s witnessing this kind of musicianship, that leaves you with nothing but complete admiration. Even though the music shone and the harpist's ring certainly shone but they didn’t due to a lack of rapport with the audience. It was only afterwards when the front man mingled amongst the sparse crowd that you got a sense of how humble they were.

An act who didn’t have any problem with rapport, were their co headliners – Team Me. As they decorated the stage with an array of pastel shaded bunting, their foreheads with head bands - a look that only teenage girls and Darwin Deez can pull off, and two lines of paint streaked across each cheek. It was as if they were preparing to attack.

The absence of their drummer determines an alternative set, resulting in the drumming duties to fall to the bassist who improvised at the front of the stage. He urged the crowd to, “laugh because we will”. But we weren’t laughing at them, we were laughing with them, as they repeatedly informed us of their impending visit to Japan as they whooped with clenched fists in the air whilst bathed in a celebratory glow. A journey that was only made possible due to their drummer flying back to their native Norway that morning to solve his visa application issues. A cramped setting and lack of drummer didn’t hinder the performance, this was made apparent as one crowd member bellowed, “You don’t need a drummer!”

Tearing through a buoyant set with a hearty vigour, they reached a clear zenith during their current single, “Weathervanes and Chemicals”.  A flute effect rang out intermittently, almost as if we were being summoned to a mystical land. The lure of the music even prompted the lead singer to treat us to an impromptu leap from stage, closing the gaping space between the band and crowd that had remained static since The Barr Brothers graced the stage. The infectious pop melodies paired with their excitable demeanour and their overriding sense of joy forced a smile and an inevitable sing-a-long, even from the most reserved in the crowd. As they continuously sang ‘We’re not as boring as you think we are”, and with the smeared paint still gleaming on their cheeks, they could leave this battle on Mancunian soil victorious.