London-based band ic1s took on Manchester’s Deaf Institute after a decade apart.
The five-piece is made up of Dan Coburn (vocals), Jesse James (guitars), John Campbell (guitars), Jacob Osman (bass), and Andy Faulkner (drums).
I caught up with the band backstage to gain an insight into their feelings ahead of their gig. They said they were looking forward to it, so I asked them which songs they were most looking forward to playing. John replied that everyone in the crowd has their own favourite song.
He said: “If we don’t like one of our own songs, we know it’s someone else’s favourite, so we’ve got to give it one hundred percent for every song.”
Fans also have new songs to look forward to, as Dan told me that the second album is ready to be recorded.
He said: “We’re not f*cking about, we’re ten years out the game.
“I’m writing every day now and it’s awesome, I love it. It’s the best stuff I’ve ever written.
“We’re in a really good creative moment.”
Before ic1s came on stage, they had two opening acts: Bloom. and Tracemaker. Jesse told me that Tracemaker were a recommendation from their producer. And for Bloom. they ran a competition to see bands in Manchester who wanted to play.
Dan then added: “They came second but Jesse picked them over the [winners]”.
Jesse explained: “We brought them because we liked what they sounded like, and they’re all really nice guys so we’re looking forward to hearing them”.
I had seen Bloom. perform already. They performed an acoustic set as their drummer was on holiday. This set, however, was a completely different vibe; a strong electric guitar accompanied with crashing drums made for a lively atmosphere that got the audience warmed up for the main event.
The band ended with a cover of Teenage Kicks which the bassist, Megan, told me was a last-minute decision made during soundcheck. This turned out to be a great decision, as it got the whole crowd right in front of the stage and singing along.
Tracemaker continued these good vibes, as the band who hand-picked them watched from the crowd, ready to go on stage.
Ic1s came on stage to screams, whistles and cheers, and opened with the upbeat song with heartful lyrics: Growing Up Going Down. A song that Jesse said can resonate with anyone of any age. This was certainly true for the audience, as the crowd was filled with people of all ages who had come from all over the country, and even the world, to see them.
The band carried on with more upbeat songs such as Armada and Don’t Change, followed by their newest single That Was Then, a song about moving forward and seeing what the future holds. This is a very fitting theme for a band who had split up for so long and reformed having no idea where the future will take them.
They had never played their new singles live before, and Jesse told me backstage that they had to relearn them in the soundcheck because they’re so new that they don’t know them.
Dan them chimed in and revealed: “That didn’t go very well either”.
This didn’t really fill me with hope backstage, but the performance blew my expectations out the water. The audience had a fantastic reaction to the song that had only been out a week.
The gig then partially moved into a different vibe, with more emotional songs such as Talking In Silence, Beautiful Ugly, and my personal favourite Not Perfect (to which when they announced it, me and someone in the crowd next to me shouted “TUNE!”).
Now in ic1s’ case, emotional does not mean stripped-back, slow and boring, it still means heavy guitar solos and upbeat drums, just with slightly less oomph than some of the more up-tempo songs.
In fact, during Not Perfect, Dan took someone’s sunglasses and wore them on stage whilst singing with a can of beer in hand. This just shows the band can write more hard-hitting songs without losing their unique style and sound.
The last song (so they said) was Soul’s On Trial, but everyone knew they still had three bangers up their sleeves that they were yet to play. The encore consisted of Levitate, Dan’s favourite song to perform live, as well as their first single after their album release, Outta Reach, which has a fantastic guitar solo that I didn’t want to end.
The band then ended with the fan favourite: Wack Jack. The song that starts off slow but explodes into a guitar-heavy and drum-heavy banger that was always guaranteed to get everyone dancing.
The end of the song features another guitar solo from Jesse, during which Dan jumped off the stage and joined the crowd to soak up the atmosphere in person. It was the perfect song to end on, as it left everyone in a great mood.
Most people stayed for a while after the gig to meet the band, take photos and buy merchandise. This was the final proof that ic1s fans are one huge family, who have all been waiting patiently for a live performance to hear their debut album and new singles up north.
Dan felt the same, after the gig he said: “Manchester was amazing. We really felt the love.
“There’s something special about playing to a northern audience and we can’t wait to come back and do more of the same.
“We were relatively well behaved compared to previous visits and instead of waking up face down in the gutter, me and Jacob spent the morning eating dumplings in China town. Rock and Spring Roll.
“Until the next time”.