Vukovi Live - Night And Day Café

Words by Tom F-H. Photos by Samantha Guess.

Night and Day Café is located in the Northern Quarter, just by Affleck’s Palace, and a bunch of diverse bars, cafes and retail stores, and it encapsulates the essence of the Manchester music scene. Sassy Scottish rock band Vukovi played their Manchester date in this small-ish venue, after filling out the likes of the O2 Academy Birmingham.

The music was loud. Delaire the Liar had good backing vocals that split up their post-hardcore with an emo spin, especially with the scratchy but ambient rhythm guitar tone. Press To Meco kept the energy high as they brought a unique blend of thrash metal and post-hardcore, with a sprinkle of prog rock. Each member contributed something else to the ensemble, but it was more than that; it was almost like each was from a completely different genre. While this may seem uncomfortable or messy, they somehow combined each style to create a palate of something chaotic – yes – but also brilliant, and with some serious musicality.

I was lucky enough to spot guitarist Hamish Reilly lurking off to one side during PTM’s set and I got a slightly comedic photo with him. He was lovely, and this set a precedent for the rest of the show, as Vukovi sound-checked their own gear and made friendly gestures to the crowd. When it was go-time, lights dimmed, and frontwoman Janine Shilstone bounded on-stage with an energy that would not die for the rest of the night. The band entered with a backing track playing the intro track ‘17359’ from ‘Fall Better’, their latest album release. Following this with ‘Violent Minds’, the band let the professional premise drop and Shilstone greeted the audience by stating how sweaty they all were, laughing. This laid-back attitude to the performance remained throughout, and their personalities as individuals shined through in a fun and grounded way, all while smashing out some ‘dirty f***ing riffs’ that blew my head off.

Their sound was chunky, with low octaves, bass drops, and riffs to die for. Martin Johnston is the band’s touring session drummer, and I felt his choppy rhythms and razor-sharp fills through every bone in my body. The team of three looked like they were having the best time, despite one of the previous bands mentioning how tired they all were - Vukovi had me fooled. The show was rough, and both the crowd and members of the support bands threw themselves into mosh-pits, jumped off the stage and were crowd-surfed back and forth. One guy – who had apparently come to see the band play from America – presented Johnston with flowers. To end a messy show, Reilly launched his guitar into the crowd and departed. After playing shows every day on a tour, Vukovi were feeling their warm, quiet beds, but brought the pain with no less conviction.

It was so lovely to see these faces that I had listened to so much over lockdown. Thanks Hamish and Vukovi for exceeding my expectations - what a way to celebrate a Sunday night.