Collaborations between rock bands and classical musicians often end in tears. It's hard not to wince at Deep Purple's epic 1969 folly Concerto for Group and Orchestra, where the spaniel-haired rockers coaxed the Royal Philharmonic into pretentious prog rock noodling. However, this Manchester international festival concert is rightfully introduced by Elbow's Guy Garvey as "a very lovely thing". The Greater Manchester band's songs – especially 2008's Mercury-winning The Seldom Seen Kid – are no strangers to classical instrumentation, and they've already performed with the BBC's Concert Orchestra. But appearing with fellow Manchester titans the Hallé (who, curiously enough, Garvey used to watch as a child) earns the very rare honour of a standing ovation after only the first half.
Hallé composer John Duddell – who looks youthful enough to be in a boy band – clearly understands where the band comes from, and Garvey's songs of family values, missed mums and alcohol-soaked doomed love audibly grow into their often radical new arrangements. Garvey's band is almost 20 years old but his vocal sounds world-weary enough to have witnessed "the first Manchester band's formation in 1858". Cast against the Hallé youth choir, it sounds like a duet between innocence and experience. He's clearly bursting with pride, but explodes any possible pretension. When he invites the crowd to sing too, instructing the choir to show how, he quips "Don't worry, you're not gonna do it like that!" Moments later, the entire audience are augmenting The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver with roared chants and handclap percussion. In another fabulous moment, Some Riot's line about "those fuckers" prompts gasps among audience members used to more dignified affairs.
After an interval where Elbow presumably don't educate the orchestra in how to trash a dressing room, Duddell's arrangements bring out further delicacy in the rock band, and vice versa. During specially commissioned new pieces, the string sections somehow captured the sound and spirit of Elbow. Great Expectations' lyrics about rainfall are accompanied by tinkling harp; Powder Blue is unbearably emotional. "Normally by this stage in an Elbow gig people look very different," comments Garvey. "Maybe not a ball gown, but a vest top." But otherwise, there are few of his usual mood-lightening jokes about nudity and farting, as if he's loathe to interrupt something this special. Although signature hit One Day Like This is slightly lost in mass euphoria, they really must do this more often – if they can possibly fit everybody on the tour bus.
At Bridgewater Hall tonight, sold out. The big screen relay is free – first come, first served – in Castlefield Arena from 6pm.
