Aitch
Victoria Warehouse 10/25/22
Manchester UK
Rianna Ram Insomnia Photographer
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Live Review
Manchester’s finest, Aitch, returned home to play two sold out shows at Victoria Warehouse this October. The 22-year-old, also known as Harrison, put on a show that will never be forgotten during his final performance of the ‘Close To Home’ tour.
The energy arrived in the room alongside the support acts: a DJ and Tays, the 19-year-old, Manchester-born rapper. The DJ played a selection of dance hits, including the likes of Hannah Montana and High School Musical, which undoubtedly had the crowd singing their hearts out. Towards the end of the set, a special guest was introduced, when a 5-year-old was brought on stage to sing a song with the DJ as his family members cheered him on from the side of the stage.
Aitch danced onto the stage after a short recording of ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis was played, taking him back to his 0161 roots, and the fans – including many younger people – filled the venue with excitement and screaming.
Following the performance of ‘Taste (Make It Shake)’, the singer was welcomed to the stage as he greeted the crowd with ‘Manchester! Your favourite in the world is back’, which some may agree is the truth, shown by some of the fan posters being held in the air.
Aitch performed a variety of songs from his older releases such as ‘Strike a Pose’, as well as newer songs from the debut ‘Close To Home’ album, which reached Number 2 in the charts back in August, following the release.
Pyrotechnics during ‘Latest Trends’ were lighting up the stage, and halfway through the song, these stopped to reveal British hip hop duo, A1 x J1. The crowd’s volume became increasingly louder as the night went on, and this moment seemed to heighten the cheers coming from fans. Most people were surprised by this unexpected collaboration – and Aitch wasn’t finished there. Mastermind performed his new song, ‘Money Habits’ which was followed by the appearance of London’s Tion Wayne for ‘Keisha & Becky’. This was one of the main highlights of the night.
Close to the end of the 1 hour 45 minute set, a choir of younger children helped create the atmosphere whilst the rapper performed ‘Close To Home’, an emotional song about not being home due to the lifestyle he lives.
Following this was a short encore before the artist came back onto stage to sing ‘My G’. I speak on everybody’s behalf when I say that the best on-stage appearance was during this song; Aitch’s sister, Gracie. The singer himself admitted that this was a complete surprise to him, and he gave her the moment to dance, followed by a hug. A few crowd members were brought to tears by this. The night was definitely an emotional rollercoaster.
The show was brought to an end after a performance of ‘Rain’, taking us all back to the memories of summer. The show ended on a high, when a photograph of Aitch walking toward street directions of Heaton Park was displayed on the screen behind him: confirming Aitch as an act on the Parklife 2023 lineup.
