CityLife

Faithless

Faithless
MEN Arena
December 5, 2010

You'd be hard pressed to find a better musical tonic to a cold night in rainy Manchester than the epic exhilaration produced by a Faithless live show.

Since bursting onto the scene in the mid-nineties, these pioneers of arena-sized dance music have blended house, trance and hip-hop to widespread critical acclaim and sold around 12 million albums in the process.

The twin focal points of their ferocious live assault are provided by keyboardist Sister Bliss’s soaring, triumphant melodies, and front man Maxi Jazz’s effortlessly cool rap delivery and boundless energy.

Early on in their set tonight, they launch into God Is A DJ and are met by a sea of raised hands and bouncing bodies and it soon becomes clear that the band have the crowd eating out of the palm of their hands.

Even new tunes are met with a rapturous response and as the thudding percussion blends perfectly with Bliss’s grandiose beats, the noise in the Arena reaches perilously high levels.

About mid-way through their set though, the band play the proverbial ace up in their sleeve in the shape of the indomitable Insomnia.

Few acts have an ability to unify an audience like Faithless do, and tonight they prove yet again why they remain at the forefront of the UK dance scene.