Manchester Orchestra at The Fillmore Silver Spring: Concert Recap
By Alexandra Henriques
On September 7th, Militarie Gun and Manchester Orchestra took the stage at The Fillmore Silver Spring. This was my first time at any Fillmore venue, so I was thoroughly impressed by their level of security. Additionally, it was great to see Fillmore workers constantly coming through with cups of water for those at or near the barricade and along the crowd’s edges.
Militarie Gun began their set on time and immediately made the energy of the venue spike. They are a rock band based in L.A. that began working with Manchester Orchestra when Militarie Gun’s frontman, Ian Shelton, got Andy Hull of Manchester Orchestra’s number and texted him about collaborating for a song in the future. Hull responded, and they worked together on the song, “My Friends Are Having A Hard Time.” Shelton shared how when they first began working on music together, they had a session at their house, where Shelton accidentally spread the flu to everyone and thought the relationship would be over, but now they tour together!
Militarie Gun at The Fillmore Silver Spring.
When I say that Militarie Gun brought energy, I mean it. Every band member went so incredibly hard – David Stalsworth, their drummer, broke the snare head from his vigor, and every member was jumping around on stage. It was truly such an impressive performance, and they were such funny guys.
However, tragedy struck during the intermission between Militarie Gun and Manchester Orchestra. Two six-foot-tall men pushed in front of me, blocking my previously perfect view of the stage. This moment was the thing that made me realize concert etiquette was truly dead. This has nothing to do with Manchester Orchestra fans but is merely an observation that audiences on a widespread level have become ruder and more entitled. Still, I powered through and eventually worked up the nerve to ask the guy in front of me to move slightly toward the left, which he surprisingly did, and then I could see a bit better.
Manchester Orchestra took the stage about 25 minutes after Militarie Gun’s set, and opened with “Top Notch.” The tour was to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their album COPE, their fourth studio album, and they performed every song of the album in chronological order. Andy Hull joked that they were too old and the “tour is way too fast and way too loud,” but they were enjoying it. This was only the second show of the Celebrating 10 Years of COPE tour, as Hull said, so they were still getting used to the energy it took. However, it was quite funny when Hull stopped “The Ocean” because Andy Prince, their bassist, was out of tune, though Prince said it was Hull. Hull joked that they should go “string for string,” then gestured to Prince and said, “whole lot going on at stage left here.” Hull was very funny, cracking jokes between every song and interacting with the audience.
My favorite song they performed was “All That I Really Wanted,” which they did acoustically (similar to their version from HOPE). It was comparable to an angel crooning, and the stripped-back sound of just a guitar alongside Hull’s vocals was beautiful. It was super interesting who the band chose to add contrast between the heavy, energetic sound of COPE with their quieter, more delicate sounds through playing acoustic versions or performing the choruses or first verses of calmer songs such as “I Can Feel Your Pain” during the interludes of songs from COPE. When they performed the entirety of the album, they played “After the Scripture” and “The Silence,” before exiting the stage.
Manchester Orchestra at The Fillmore Silver Spring.
However, it was much to the crowd’s pleasure when they returned to play a whole four more songs as their encore, meaning they played 19 of their songs, counting the songs performed during interludes. The entire performance lasted an hour and a half, which was very impressive. They honored COPE, while also giving a nod to their most well-known songs such as “The Silence” and “The Gold.” I think I almost fell to my knees when they started playing “The Gold,” it was just that good.
Overall, I need to start bringing earplugs for concerts. That was something I decided while standing (almost) at the barricade for this concert because it was so loud. However, there is something beautiful in the physiological synchrony of our hearts at concerts, when you can literally feel your blood pump to the sound of the music, and I had that pleasure throughout both performances. Overall, this concert was a truly great experience. Militarie Gun has a new fan, and Manchester Orchestra live is even better (somehow!) than their recordings. The next time they are in the DMV area, I recommend getting tickets. Just remember to bring your earplugs for your ears’ protection, and do not let anyone shove past you!
You can listen to Militarie Gun and Manchester Orchestra on Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp.
