DMAs
O2 Leeds - 10th Nov 21
Word & Photos - Liam McEvoy
Hailing all the way from Sydney Australia the DMA’s stopped by in Leeds recently and delivered a delivered a storming set on what was the first of two sold out headline shows in the city.
Before the DMA’s took to the stage Pixey opened in spectacular fashion. A blend of dreamy guitar melodies and unique vocals made for a fantastic supporting set. Following this it was time for the main event and just after 9pm DMA’s took to the stage to raucous applause powering straight into ‘Never Mind’. The opening track from the band’s latest album ‘The Glow’ this opened the gig with a crackling energy that persisted throughout.
They then followed this up with ‘The Glow’ which saw the crowd bouncing and singing along. The band the powered through two tracks from their back catalogue with ‘Dawning’ and ‘In The Moment’ before plunging into ‘Silver’ this saw a massive reaction from the crowd with beer flying, people on shoulders and the entire room becoming a mass of dancing people.
They then stormed through more of their back catalogue and played a number of tracks from their newest album including the almost dance track ‘Life is a Game of Changing’, the brilliant ballad ‘Criminals’ and the thundering indi rock track ‘Hello Girlfriend’.
Throughout their set the band kept an incredible energy and worked the crowd to perfection, ending their set with ‘Play it Out’. This left the crowd in an almost euphoric state and begging for more.
After a Short pause the band duly obliged and returned to the stage and performed a stunning acoustic version of ‘Appointment’. They then powered into the drum driven ‘Lay Down’ and ended the gig with ‘Feels Like 37’.
On the first of two nights in Leeds the DMA’s delivered an outstanding set that the crowd absolutely loved.
There are very few dates left on the UK leg of the tour, so if you get a chance to see this band live you absolutely should.
Track List:
Never Before
The Glow
Dawning
In The Moment
Silver
Game of Changing
Criminals
Emily Whyte
We Are Midnight
Tape Deck Sick
In The Air
Hello Girlfriend
Delete
Junk Truck Head Fuck
Play It Out
Encore:
Appointment
Lay Down
Feels Like 37
soft cell
O2 Leeds - 13th Nov 21
Words & photos - John McEvoy
You may recall that back in 2018, Soft Cell did a farewell reunion gig, saying that this would be the last time they would ever perform live onstage. Although they did say that they would continue to write and record material.
Cut to Oct 2021, and Soft Cell much to everyones surprise announce a new album is on the way in Feb 22 and they would be undertaking a mini 6 date UK tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Non Stop Erotic Cabaret album.
And so it was that on a dark November Leeds night, Soft Cell came to the O2 and delivered a dazzling set split into 2 parts.
The first half was made up of tracks from their new album, ‘Happiness Not Included’ and some Soft Cell standards. The second half saw them perform Non Stop Erotic Cabaret in full.
Of course, Leeds has always been a special place for this band as this is where they first got together in the late 70’s. From the very start it was clear that. Marc Almond and Dave Ball were very much back where they wanted to be, and early in the set Marc Almond commented on ‘How good it was to be back up North, where we belong”.
The capacity crowd were not disappointed either as this set was delivered with consummate skill, and front man Almond didn’t disappoint with his natural and amiable inter sing banter with the crowd. Something I didn’t realise I just how funny he is and his engaging manner was warmly received.
From the opening track ‘Torch’ through to ‘Martin’ the crowd loved every minute of it and special mention must go to the rest of the band in the shape of Gary Barnacle on sax and the 3 backing singers who were outstanding throughout the gig. Interestingly the 4 new tracks featured in the first half were well received and if they were anything to go by, the new album is one to look forward to early in 2022.
And so after a short interval (yes really!!)…
It was onto Non Stop Erotic Cabaret. Hard to believe this was originally released 40 years ago. Before I go on, it’s worth pointing out that visually this gig was a Tour De Force. Featuring old clips and stills of Soho at its seediest they perfectly captured the time, and if you get a chance to see this gig on a streaming service, DVD etc, I recommend you looking this one up.
Unsurprisingly the opening chords of ‘Tainted Love’ sent the crowd into a pink flamingo waving, dancing, and general singalong mode, and the controversial (at the time)’Sex Dwarf’ with its classic early 80’s synth oping was another of the many highlights of the set.
As always, Dave Ball was hidden by keyboards provided the thumping beats throughout, but it was clear that he was having a great time playing with his mate again.
Album closer ‘Say Hello Wave Goodbye’ was of course time for the Pink Flamingos to make an appearance and the crowd were in fine form throughout.
What struck me was just how good this album, was and indeed still is, which frankly is not something you can say about a lot of electronic/synth albums from that time.
Of course, the crowd were going nowhere until after the obligatory encore, and Soft Cell didn’t disappoint with 2 closing tracks. ‘Purple Zone’ from the forthcoming new album was a further indication of how strong this new album is, and gig closer ‘Memorabilia’ was the perfect way to bring what had been one of the finest gigs of the year to a close.
The question a lot of people are now asking is ‘Will Soft Cell do a bigger UK tour, based on the back of this one and the release of their new album next year?
The answer now is frankly your guess is as good as mine.
The one thing I can tell you is that based on how much they were clearly enjoying themselves on stage, and the reaction of the audience, it wouldn’t surprise me if they did.
Watch this space!!
Soft cell set list:
Torch
Bruises on my illusions – New album
Happy Happy Happy – New album
Monoculture
Heart like Chernobyl – New album
Nostalgia machine – New album
Kitchen sink drama
Where the heart is - From the art of falling apart
Divided soul
L’esqualita
Heat - From the art of falling apart
The art of falling apart - From album of the same name
Martin
Act 2
Frustration
Tainted love
Seedy films
Youth
Sex dwarf
Entertain me
Chips on my shoulder
Bedsitter
Secret life
Say hello, wave goodbye
Encore
Purple zone – New album
Memorabilia
Links:
george o'hanlon
The Lending Room, Leeds - 18th Nov 21
Words & Photos - Levi Tubman
Young singer songwriter George has played a couple of support gigs across the area recently, and tonight I had the pleasure of seeing him at the Lending Room in Leeds. If you’ve not been it’s a fairly small intimate venue compared to places such as the academy.
If you’re wondering how intimate a venue it is, the young man I almost bumped into with my camera bag at the bar was George himself, who casually walked through the audience and onto the stage.
No introduction, he just started playing and got through a few songs before addressing the crowd, thanking everyone for coming, before nervously pointing out he’s not leaving yet don’t worry, “I just suck at the talking to the audience part”
Luckily he has his music to do that for him! Now I have certain expectations from bands, I want interaction from the singer, at least an introduction and a few words between some of the songs, but he simply doesn’t need it, unassumingly taking to the mic, picking through a few notes, opening his mouth and he instantly had the rooms attention.
While not simple, his music really isn’t complex, an electric guitar with only processing from the amplifier, and his voice, that is simply stunning. While often light and fragile, it has a full unique tone, with some resemblance of Thom York. Managing to hold onto notes until almost fading to nothing, before coming straight back in with wonderful breathing technique. And when you’re settled into his sound, out of the blue he really pushes it, belting out with a beautiful thick gravel edge, almost grunge like while still over the picked light guitar, it’s goosebump inducing.
His guitar style is really interesting, a few times he picks the strings open while holding the mic in his left hand, while sounding melodic. Where some artists might drop the whole guitar down a semitone, he appears to have a custom tune for nearly every song, providing some interesting chords and sounds, moving his hands only slightly to make huge changes in sound, all with just a tuning pedal on stage, a bare pure sound. He mentioned he’s coming back soon with a band, and that they’re normally playing while he tunes up, I’d love to see how different he sounds with a full band behind him.
I went with no expectations or opinions; however, I was blown away by his live show. He doesn’t come across as having an ego, he’s quiet and unassuming. Produces a genuinely beautiful sound, with intricately written songs.
I had a massive smile from start to finish, and he’s one of those artists that’s a genuine pleasure to see. I predict he will go far, and I look forwards to seeing him next year.
Links:
the brand new heavies
Leeds Stylus - 18th Dec 21
Words & Photos - Liam McEvoy
Saturday night at The Stylus in Leeds and The Brand New Heavies (TBNH) with their classic dance/funk grooves were just what this audience needed to chase away the winter/covid blues.
Taking to the stage at a little after 9pm, they opened proceedings with ‘Midnight At The Oasis’ with founding members Sy Bartholomew and Andrew Levy driving the groove, before Angela Ricci’s vocals kicked in.
I know it may be hard to believe but TBNH have been around since 1985 with their distinctive acid-jazz/funk sound, 36 years later I can confirm that despite numerous line-up changes, based on tonight’s performance they are still as tight as ever. Classic tracks such as ‘Never Stop’, ‘Sometimes’ and ‘Back to Love’ kept proceedings moving along at a high tempo, which was much appreciated by the crowd.
Next up was ‘Brother Sister’ and then Angela Ricci headed of for a quick costume change which gave the rest of the band to deliver some wonderful free flowing funk in the shape of ‘BNH’.
Set closers ‘Stupid Love’ and ‘Spend Some Time’ ensured that the crowd weren’t going to go anywhere until they had manged to squeeze a few more tunes out of the band.
After the obligatory short break, the encore kicked in naturally enough with two of their most well-known tracks ‘You Are The Universe’ and ‘Dream Come True’ which ensured that the evening finished on a genuine high.
Gigs this year for obvious reasons haven’t been as plentiful as usual, and for Wall of Sound this is to be our final one for 2021. But as if often the case, the best is invariably saved till last, and TBNH would certainly meet that brief.
If you love great songs, funk and quality musicianship, then look no further than the TBNH for your dance fix.
We’re already looking forward to catching them live once again in 2022!
Set List:
1. Midnight at the Oasis
2. Sometimes
3. Back to Love
4. Never Stop
5. These Walls
6. Dream on Dreamer
7. Brother Sister
8. BNH
9. Stay This Way
10. Stupid Love
11. Spend Some Time
Encore:
12. You Are the Universe
13. Dream Come True
Links:
echo & the bunnymen
Leeds O2 - 2nd Feb 22
Words & Photos - Liam McEvoy
It was a mild February evening that saw the Liverpool based post-punk infused band Echo & The Bunnymen take to the stage at the O2 in Leeds and gave storming set that unfortunately had to end prematurely.
Just after 9pm the band took to the stage and immediately launched into the show opening with ‘Going Up’, which got the crowd in the mood from the off. The band then powered through a number of their classic tracks with ‘Over the Wall’ receiving a massive reaction from the crowd.
This was swiftly followed by ‘All My Colours (Zimbo)’. This again had the crowd rocking and was indicative of the incredible energy the band was putting out. The Band continued in fantastic form and the highlight of the evening came when the band performed ‘Seven Seas’.
This saw the bands enigmatic frontman Ian McCulloch take a break from singing as the crowd gleefully took up the mantle and sand the song in fine voice. It was just after this that the band left the stage with McCulloch asking the audience to give them five minutes.
The band then returned for a brief time and performing one more track before once again leaving the stage. After a short period of general confusion, the audience were informed that unfortunately there was a medical issue, and the band would have to rearrange the show.
The band have since released a statement stating that “Ian had to leave the stage due to feeling unwell” but that he is now “doing well”. It’s a shame that the gig came to a premature end as the set that Echo & The Bunnymen did perform was a blistering.
Thankfully however, everyone is ok and fans can look forward to the rescheduled date which will now be on the 5th April.
Links:
BAstille
Leeds Wardrobe - 8th Feb 22
Words & photos Liam McEvoy
On the same night as the Brit awards, Bastille took to the stage to perform two back-to-back intimate gigs to celebrate the launce of their latest album ‘Give Me The Future’ which was released on the 4th February 2022 and is currently the number 1 album in the UK in the official charts.
After a storming intro Bastille powered into ‘Future Holds’ the final track from the new album that got the audience in the mood and dancing from the off. Following this, front man Dan Smith explained that the show was designed to be an interactive one with the audience, with the band taking requests online prior to the show for tracks people would like played.
Bastille had also been taking questions from audience members before the show, and these were read out and answered by the band on stage. Whilst this was a warmup gig of sorts before the Bastille embark on their stadium tour later this year, the band had to get used to a new set up, but did this incredibly well. Performing ‘Quarter Past Midnight’ taken from their 2019 album ‘Doom Days’.
This received a massive response from the crowd that seemed thrilled to hear some of Bastilles older tracks as well as those from the new album. This was followed by a beautiful acoustic version of ‘Power’ which despite nursing a chest infection saw Dan Smiths vocals shine.
As the band had explained, as well as taking requests before the show, this also included people submitting their dreams. In what was perhaps the most surreal moment in the show Bastille performed ‘Give Me The Future’ and in the middle of the track, to the amusement of the audience, incorporated some of the dreams that had been submitted by fans.
After this track, the band jokingly apologised for how strange this portion of the gig was. Bastille then performed what they described as an even more depressing version of the most depressing song on the new album. However, the version of ‘No Bad Days’ was a stunning acoustic version that had the crowd singing along in fine voice.
The show closed with the band performing two stellar tracks. ‘Pompeii’ saw the crowd dancing and singing along. ‘Shut Off The Lights’ closed the show, however before the track began, the band sampled the crowd singing the chorus so that whilst the band played the track, the crowd were included in the tune as well, singing along at the top of their voice.
This was an incredible way to end the show, as this truly involved the audience in the set and clearly left them wanting more.
The set Bastille performed was a fantastic way to celebrate the launch of their new album, and as I write this review, is deservedly No 1 in the charts.
If fans were unable to get tickets to these more intimate shows, you will still be able to catch them later this year when they undertake a full stadium tour.
Set List
1. Intro
2. Future Holds
3. Quarter past Midnight
4. Power
5. Laughter Lines
6. Give Me The Future
7. No Bad Days
8. Pompeii
9. Shut Off The Lights
Links:
Photo Gallery
the stranglers
Leeds O2 - 12th Feb 22
Words & Photos Levi Tubman
Now for me music peaked in 1977, which makes seeing classic punk bands in 2022 a little hit and miss, there’s a few out there who are just going through the motions or don’t quite have it any more, and after a number of line-up changes I was a little apprehensive at seeing The Stranglers for the first time, but turns out I needn’t had been.
As soon as I got out of my car a couple of guys called over to ask if I was going to see The Stranglers that night? They’d travelled a few hours to see them, as they had when they saw them the night before, oh and it wasn’t the last time they planned on seeing them on this tour!
Outside I saw a number of fans running up to people they recognised from other Stranglers gigs, comparing tour T-shirts and stories, like old friends or a not-so-secret club. This is the bands last full UK tour, while they say they’re still going to be playing it’s the last time they’re going to be doing a big tour, it’s their own send-off playing all their hits and fan favourites, a tour that like so many has been delayed by 2 years because of Covid so it’s easy to see why fans are so eager.
Opening for them were the DC Ruts, formally The Ruts of Babylon’s Burning fame, a band who’ve managed to keep going decades later despite losing their singer at their peak 42 years ago, and original guitarist a few year back. But the trio who have been playing together for 15 years make more noise than 3 people alone should be able to, stood on stage, wide stance, with their raw vocal style spitting out the lyrics to Babylons Burning. Catchy riffs and thumping basslines they got the already pumped crowd going, and as they left the stage to cheers, they soon turned to chants of STRAN-GA-LERS! STRAN-GA-LERS!
While Jim Macaulay Toby Hounsham hide at the back of the stage raised up behind drums and Keyboards, Guitarist and Vocalist Baz Warne and founding member, vocalist and bassist Jean-Jacques Burnel bounce onto the stage to their trademark theme Waltzinblack, hopping from foot to foot, pulling faces sticking their tongues out and grinning in what can only be described as a cheeky impish mood, they’re kids on their own personal playground where every toy is theirs and every eye is on them.
They don’t say anything, just launch into the first few tracks and behind me I can hear the crowd singing and cheering over the band, and when they speak a few songs in, they have to stop until the crowd dies down, laughing every time the cheering erupts, Baz putting on a very questionable Yorkshire accent claiming he’s allowed to as he now lives in Leeds, Launching into Skin Deep to chants of LEEDS LEEDS LEEDS.
The hits keep coming, just the first 3 notes from Peaches and a brief pause to see the crowds reaction before the song kicks in, the band are putting in more energy and enthusiasm than artists half their age and every song is played to its fullest. They seem to be enjoying it more than the audience, you get the impression there’s nowhere else they’d rather be and nothing else they’d rather be doing.
Then there’s the fans, I thought I knew what to expect from a classic punk gig, a more serious crowd, pretty far from One Direction or BTS but out in the crowd are banners, some with song titles on, some just love hearts or We Love You. Between songs you can hear people shouting out ‘we love you’ along with song requests. Every song they wanted to hear was played, with Always The Sun, Peaches and Golden Brown played back to back including their fantastic cover of Walk On By, and Something better change
Everyone was expecting THAT song for the encore but to some confusion they came back on stage semi acoustic, first playing The Lines and then, And If You Should See Dave. Written about their Keyboard player and original founding member Dave Greenfield who sadly died of Covid last year, and the room’s silent, no one’s singing along just watching in silence until it finishes. Where a man in front of me, 6 foot of muscle and tattoos and a further foot of mohawk wipes a tear from his eye.
Every band has one song that they’re known for that they’re always expected to play, so they had to come back on stage to chants of HEROES HEROES, and as it comes to the end I can’t help but wonder, as I’m singing along about Leon Trotsky and Sancho Panza with a few thousand other fans as a band that’s been playing and writing fantastic music for over 4 decades.
On their second encore playing a song they’ve played thousands of times to millions of people, playing it as if it’s the very first time, and they’re proudly showing off their creation to the world that they may have been wrong all along, and that if you know where to look there’s still a few Heroes out there, or maybe I’m just sentimental and just seen one of my all-time favourite gigs.
Either way The Stranglers can still prove they’re one of the musical greats.
Setlist:
1. Toiler On The Sea
2. Something Better Change
3. Sometimes
4. Water
5. Skin Deep
6. This Song Will Get Me Over You
7. Nice and Sleezy
8. Don’t Bring Harry
9. Strange Little Girl
10. Always The Sun
11. Peaches
12. Golden Brown
13. The Last Men On The Moon
14. Get A Grip On Yourself
15. Curfew
16. White Stallion
17. Relentless
18. Nuclear Device (The Wizard Of Aus)
19. Walk On By
20. Straighten Out
21. Duchess
22. Hanging Around Encore 1
23. The Lines
24. And If You Should See Dave… Encore 2
25. 5 Minutes
26. Tank
27. No More Heroes
Links:
Photo Gallery
Pale Waves
Leeds O2 - 17th Feb 22
Words & Photos - Levi Tubman
Kicking the night off was Bitters, fronted by singer/songwriter/Producer Claudia Mills who after working in all aspects of the music industry is now making her way out there with her own material.
A heavy retro feel bringing a 90’s indie sound with an electronic twist, with hints of Alanis Morrissett and No Doubt. Claudia’s voice cuts through defining the bands sound with a fervour and brightness that fills the room with songs that that could have come from a movie sound track, I wouldn’t be surprised in the future they will be headlining their own tour.
The main support tonight was supposed to be Hot Milk, who sadly had to take a break due to medical reasons. Beaux were the band who stepped into replace them, and proclaimed that tonight was their biggest ever gig with. This compliment got the audience on their side with the tale of the drummer having to get back the same day from Hungary, and the bassist from University where she was studying for her finals.
Looking them up after the gig, it looks like what I thought of as a band is more of a solo act with the other 2 playing live with him but less so on albums, but they’re a tight unit, with a slight slip up on one song that had only been written that week. But they were not going to pass up the chance to play it to a large audience.
Following their catchy and energetic music, they left the stage to loud cheers and clearly acquired a lot of new fans. Whilst the albums are not as much to my taste, I really hope to see more of these playing live, and look forward to seeing them again.
There’s a young crowd out tonight for the headliners, after being signed in 2017, they went straight out as the 1975’s support on their North American tour, leading to their own American and European tours.
And so it was that Manchester band Pale Waves walked onto the Leeds stage tonight to chants of YORKSHIRE YORKSHIRE, laughing and taking it in their stride with the wrong/right side of the Pennines joke running throughout their set with one of the biggest cheers of the nights coming after a comment about Yorkshire Tea. You can’t beat involving the audience as a band member, helping bridge the gap between them and the stage.
Pale Waves have gained a big following in a short time with their own brand of electro indie pop, pulling from the influences of their youth, from artists like Avril Lavigne and The Cranberries, with incredibly catchy riffs and soaring vocals.
On stage they’re less refined, in a very good way, putting more of an edge on their sound, adding more of a pop punk slant on some tracks, pushing the energy and merging the different sounds of the two albums, with very few words between songs, something I’ve come to expect from Manchester bands.
Vocalists are the front of any band, but Heather’s voice isn’t that of just any band, it has a sound older than its owner, easily swapping between belting out power to delicate and fragile, breaking slightly at times as she forms the words around smooth bass pounding drums and bright leading guitars.
Despite having just 2 albums the band still have a healthy catalogue to pull from, and rather than pushing all new material, they switched between new and old throughout the night, never doing more than 2 songs back-to-back from one album.
Between bands I was stood off to one side next to a couple who had brought their daughter to her first ever gig, they didn’t know the music but were just excited that she wanted to see live music. It’s great to see a live music venue not only full, on a wet and stormy Thursday night, but also with a new generation coming through, and this tells you all you need to know about the band.
pale waves
paul carrack
York Barbican - 17th Feb 22
Words & photos - John McEvoy
In the midst of various storms that paid a visit to these fair isles, hardy souls came to the Barbican in York to catch Paul Carrack on his Good and Ready tour, to support the release of his latest album ‘One on One’ which was released last year to critical acclaim.
But before we get to the main act, it would be remiss of me not to give special mention to singer songwriter Jazz Morley who provided a wonderfully soulful keyboards and vocals performance which kept the near capacity crowd spellbound. Currently unsigned, it’s surely only a matter of time before this lady becomes a star in her own right.
One thing I know for sure is that even if you haven’t heard of Paul Carrack, I can guarantee you that you will have at some point heard his tunes. This man’s CV is to say the least impressive! Starting out in the 70’s as the front man for Ace, he has subsequently been involved with Squeeze, Roxy Music, and Mike & The Mechanics.
His songs have been covered by a who’s who of the musical world, such as Diana Ross and Michael McDonald to name two. In addition, he’s toured with numerous artists including most recently Eric Clapton on his American tour last year. In addition to all that, he possesses one of the most soulful voices you’re likely to hear.
So, whilst storms Dudley and Eunice were giving the UK a battering, at the Barbican we were treated to a consummate musician able supported by an accomplished band with a twin drum set up deliver a set which (eventually) got the seated crowd up an on their feet!
Opener ‘Good And Ready’ from his latest album set the tone for the night with its bouncing soulful R&B vibe, accompanied by some great sax work. Squeeze classic ‘Tempted’ sounded as good as ever and of course who doesn’t love the sound of a Hammond Organ.
Of course, this tour was also to promote his new album, and whilst it can be a risk playing new material, the appreciative York crowd seemed to really enjoy the new tracks such as “Precious Time’, ‘Shame’ and ‘Love is Blind’.
Even great musicians can occasionally get things wrong, and Carrack stopped the intro to ‘You’re Not Alone’ and admitted to an amused audience and band that he’d forgotten the words in what could only be described as a ‘senior moment’! However, a quick drink of water and all was back on track again.
Being a Yorkshire boy, it was clear that Paul Carrack was glad to be back in Gods country, and the evening was a delight from start to finish.
Paul Carrack is no stranger to doing cover versions and I suspect Charlie Rich would approve of his version of the classic ‘Behind Closed Doors’ which is the closing track on his new album.
Of course, many of the audience were there to hear the big tunes and he didn’t disappoint. Set closer ‘How Long’ originally released way back in 1974 (Yes, 48 years ago!) genuinely sounded as good as ever. “Living Years’, and ‘Over My Shoulder’ went down a storm with the crowd and final tune ‘Set Me Free’ from his latest album brought proceedings to a rapturous close with its Van Morrison/Commitments R&B feel.
There’s a quote on Paul Carracks wiki page which I think sums up his talent better than I could so forgive me for plagiarising here but as Record Collector remarked. "If vocal talent equalled financial success, Paul Carrack would be a bigger name than legends such as Elton John and Phil Collins”
Nothing more to add really!!
Set list:
Good And Ready
Tempted
Satisfy My Soul
Love Is Blind
Precious Time
Eyes of Blue
All That Matters
Shame
Bet Your Life
Love Will Keep Us Alive
You’re Not Alone
Behind Closed Doors
One In A Million
Living Years
Walk In The Room
How Long
Encore:
Over My Shoulder
Set Me Free
Links:
Paul Carrack
Wolf Alice
Mountford Hall, Liverpool - 22nd Feb 22
Words & Photos - Anya Weston-Shaw
Stepping into Mountford Hall as doors opened was a rather emotional experience as the stage revealed itself in a vintage style almost reminiscent of the ‘Beautifully Unconventional’ music video.
The crowd was full of stories of the first gigs people had been to, one person mentioned they had seen the band when they were the original 2-piece band of Joff Oddie and Ellie Rowsell playing clubs in London.
The long wait for this rescheduled Blue Weekend tour date was finally over. Opening was the widely anticipated Matt Maltese, who came on shortly after and managed to charm the crowd into a swaying collective through his set, with stories of a band member getting fired from an ice cream parlour for sampling all flavours with the same spoon and other charming anecdotes.
All of this working up to a finale; ‘As The World Caves In’ which was a song that left many a crowd member singing to the person next to them, and expressing a ballad-like projection to those in the vicinity.
The clock ticked ever closer to 9pm, and the crowd had more and more of an anticipation to see the recent BRIT award winning band play their ‘greatest hits’. I heard discussions of what the setlist would be, and hopes that the band would not forget to include songs from the first album.
Soon the house lights dim and the crowd surges with screams of excitement as Joff leads the band on stage. “I CAN’T BELIEVE IT”- shrieked a girl behind me as the band grab instruments and the familiar rumble of the bass at the start of ‘Smile’ kicked off what was a rather special night.
The band paid homage to their most recent album ‘Blue Weekend’ by playing a section of the tracklist in order. This was met with the crowd singing to their hearts content. A semi-acoustic ‘No Hard Feelings’ with bass and vocals brought everyone back down to reality after a journey through the emotions their album embodies.
This was with a few oldies in-between, such as ‘Silk’ which was included on the T2: Trainspotting Soundtrack. In contrast, Ellie Rowsell managed to whip the crowd into a frenzy during songs such as ‘Play The Greatest Hits’ and the crowd favourite ‘Giant Peach’. Leaving the venue craving more, and chanting for an encore.
The band really took the audience on a journey through their career in the show, and Ellie really came back strong vocally on this tour, seeming to enjoy and revel in the new power her voice holds.
Coming on for an encore of ‘Last Man on the Earth’ and ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’, members of the crowd wiped tears as Ellie and Theo Ellis declared how much they appreciated the support and the turnout.
Overall an experience for all where the music brought everyone together, and as people slowly filtered out of the venue, the stories and memories created that night are something that will be discussed for a long time to come.
Setlist:
1. Smile
2. You're a Germ
3. Formidable Cool
4. Delicious Things
5. Lipstick on the Glass
6. Planet Hunter
7. Bros
8. Safe From Heartbreak (If You Never Fall in Love)
9. How Can I Make It OK?
10. Play the Greatest Hits
11. Feeling Myself
12. Silk
13. Visions of a Life
14. Moaning Lisa Smile
15. No Hard Feelings
16. Giant Peach Encore:
Encore:
17. The Last Man on Earth
18. Don't Delete the Kisses
Links:
