21st November 2012, Deaf Institute
8/10
I was unsure of what to expect upon arriving at the Deaf Institute to see AlunaGeorge perform the Manchester leg of their first tour. The warm-up by a DJ named S-Type – who I would seriously recommend – set the tone for the sounds on display for the evening: electronic-pop infused R&B.
Visually, Aluna Francis and George Reid tick all the boxes and it’s easy to see why their videos have a slightly fashion-y edge. As the rather stunning female vocalist, Aluna naturally took centre stage, accompanied by her mile-long legs and grinding dance moves, while George stood at his decks to her right, pulling some pretty slick moves himself and providing the shimmering beats beneath the sweetly squeaky vocals.
Entertaining a crowd of already die-hard fans (including one guy who thought he was Aluna) meant that there were whoops of glee at the start of every song, but the duo still impressed those of us who didn’t know their music inside out. Their famous track ‘You Know You Like It’ was met with expected joy, while the infectiously catchy hook of ‘Your Drums, Your Love’ was sung out from the crowd louder than it was on stage. They entertained us with an unexpected version of Montell Jordan’s ‘This is How We Do It’, which forced those at the back who weren’t already dancing to get on their feet, while my absolute favourite XX-esque ‘Watching Over You’ added a more melancholic edge to an otherwise high-energy set.
AlunaGeorge are, if predictions are correct, set to be one of the best emerging talents of 2012, and judging by this gig it’s not hard to see why their fun, accessible and most importantly unpretentious take on electro-pop would be rejected by a larger audience. The only selfishly indulgent downside to this inevitable popularity is the ticket prices for their next live show will be much more that the seven quid I paid in this instance.
