N.E.R.D
Carling Apollo Manchester

A lot of people had braved the cold and made their way to the Carling Apollo Manchester to see N.E.R.D. It was evident that this terrific trio were making a real impression in the UK attracting all different manner of folk, from students to scalleys, all wanting to get energised by N.E.R.D’s blend of hip hop fused rock with soul.

Kevin Mark Trail warmed up the crowd playing some uplifting soul that went down well however they had come to see N.E.R.D and . especially Pharrell Williams. They took their time coming on but when they did they entered to a thunderous applause. The band opened with a Who-esque jam which I thought was pretty cool. They had a real skater hip hop causal look and looked very relaxed. The ladies were loving Pharrell. He just looked great up there, real presence and his smooth high pitched voice transcended well. They played all the singles released from both their albums, ‘Rockstar’, Lapdance’ went down really well. The heavy sound of the guitar, smooth vocals and really solid rhythm section got the crowd involved.

They were dancing and loving the energy. There was other bits also that made the set original, Pharrell played ‘Frontin’ form his solo stuff and the new single ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ and they even started jamming ‘We Will Rock You’ by Queen.

All in all it was a successful night full of energy and crowd participation. They played a mixture of songs from both albums and they had real stage presence. It was entertaining and original. People definitely enjoyed it and I’m sure we’ll see them in Manchester again

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