Manchester is my second home—the amount of time I have spent there for concerts and nights out. I’ll never be able to thank the city enough. I think that’s quite the same for underground rock legend, Jesse Malin. Every time Jesse plays Manchester people turn out in droves to see him. The native New Yorker is always treated like a rock god when playing clubs in Manchester. This was my fourth time checking him out live. The first time I ever saw him he was opening for The Replacements in London. I knew I was going to like his music from that moment on. I picked up a copy of his album New York, Before The War, and it blew me away. I would continue to listen to him and I think I have a good handle on his style. It’s that college rock/adult alternative sound that got really big in the 90s with bands like Soul Asylum and Bob Mould. Why is that important? Well, that’s kind of the crux of this tour. It’s been 20 years since the release of his debut solo record The Fine Art of Self Destruction. He’s out on the road celebrating this anniversary. The album was a landmark in Malin’s career. After spending the 90s in Punk and alt-rock bands, he would enter the new millennium in this genre. So a significant anniversary to make an occasion out of. He’s re-released the album and embarked on a 2023 tour.
Originally the tour was advertised as having The Replacements-own, Tommy Stinson as the support. However, due to health issues, Tommy had to drop out of the dates. Which was a shame. In his stead, we were treated to the folk stylings of Trapper Schoepp As far as an opener for Jesse, this was a really great set. The Milwaukee native was very charismatic in his delivery as he cleverly navigates between singing his songs and telling stories to the audience about those songs. I have to say I really enjoyed listening to him. The genuine passion and enthusiasm that Trapper shows is quite endearing. Songs like “Queen of the Mist” and “Ogallala” had such an earnest quality to them. If this set did anything it was acting as a tourist advisory for the audience to go to Wisconsin. As Trapper was evidently quite proud of his home. His music went from punchy and lively to innocent and serene. I very much enjoyed this set the most I could. His ability to set the scene and execute the song was very impressive. Trapper turned out to be a surprising powerhouse of a performer. His vocals were great and his sense of melody and rhythm was more than enough to get the audience grooving. I immediately got myself to the merch table to get a CD. In all honestly, it takes a special something for that to happen these days. 
Jesse Malin took to the stage and immediately brought the emotion levels up with the single “Room 13”. The pace of the show would soon pick up with a cover of The Pogues’ “If I Should Fall From The Grace Of God” and his own “The Way We Used To Roll”. Obviously, this set was an ode to his debut solo album The Fine Art Of Self Destruction. So, the majority of the setlist was filled with songs from that album. Jesse did a great job of laying the groundwork when it came to describing the history of these songs. He regaled the Manchester crowd with stories of his past working on this album in New York. The way he described the people and places with reverence and in some cases, humour. The set moved at a great pace as Jesse masterfully navigated between the musical and storytelling portions of the show. I really enjoyed hearing songs like “TKO” and “Queen Of The Underworld” and I had never heard those songs live before. 
The set would really kick into high gear when Jesse suddenly decided that the stage wasn’t cool anymore and he wanted to spend a portion of the set in the crowd with the fans. As he would walk through the Manchester audience as the sound tech valiantly tried to keep the microphone cable out of harm's way. Obviously, as a fan, this is always an awesome thing to watch as everyone sings the lyrics and you can catch the artist's reaction in real time. Jesse clambered onto the bar and addressed the crowd as he lead into his piano bar-style cover of “Bastards Of Young” (originally by The Replacements) in honour of Tommy Stinson’s absence from the show. Jesse is such a man-of-the-people style artist clearly enjoying every minute he spent sauntering around the venue, which was sold out.
Coming to the final act of the set, here is where the heavy hitters were brought out. Songs like “The Fine Art Of Self Destruction” and “Solitaire” received a rapturous ovation from the crowd. The crowd returned the love in return by singing along. Especially on the hit song “She Don’t Love Me Now”. On a personal note, that’s my favourite single from Jesse. The set ended with a tribute to Ukraine with the song “All The Way From Moscow”, a song he originally performed with the band The Saint Marks Social. Finally bringing everything to a close with the tune “Meet Me At The End Of The World”.
A superb set and a thoroughly enjoyable night out. Both sets from Trapper Schoepp and Jesse Malin brought a smile to my face. It was a sold-out night and let me tell you that was earned. Jesse is an absolute enigma. His shows are filled with laughter, song and charisma. Overall I am quite satisfied and this was more than worth the price of admittance. I hope to see both of them again, sooner rather than later.
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