Catfish and the Bottlemen delivered an electric performance on Tuesday night, covering their entire album ‘The Balcony’. The British indie-rock band put on an hour and a half set, in which they opened with ‘Rango’, and closed with crowd pleaser ‘Tyrants’, ensuring the crowd were left heavily satisfied with the band’s performance.
The London Souls provided a brilliant set as the support act, introducing a slightly different form of rock to what the crowd would be used to. The mixture of soul, rock and brilliant vocals provided a great introduction to a great night. Songs played on the night were from the Soul’s latest album: Here Come the Girls. One thing that was clear was the diverse ability of the main vocalist of the duo – Tash Neil – whose ability to offer passion and precision was well appreciated by the crowd. ‘When I’m With You’ was both acknowledged and loved by the crowd, with the songs catchy rhythm making it easy to get into.`
After a composed first song, the duo kept the crowd interested by performing ‘Steady’ towards the end of the set. Being one of my personal favourites, and definitely their most impressive song of the night, it is comfortable to say that The London Souls provided a really interesting set for the night, and definitely picked up some new followers on the way. The duo travel to both Cambridge and Southampton in their last two performances in the UK, before parting ways with Catfish and the Bottlemen to return to America where they will be performing in New York.
Then it was time for the headliners; one of the many unique abilities of lead singer, Van; is that he actually sounds better on a live set than when he’s singing in the studio. His flawless vocals are heavily complimented by his raw and clear passion he has for music, creating a special relationship with the crowd, making the music more intense, and incredibly fulfilling for the crowd to listen to. Opening with ‘Rango’, the aggressive guitar feature was a great way to dive straight into the concert. From the offset, the standard remained at the very highest, and it’s very difficult to fault any of the entire set. A well placed acoustic song in ‘Hourglass’ enabled the crowd to be set up for a chilling closer, where ‘Tyrants’ created an absolutely incredible atmosphere within Rock City.
The band’s ability to engage with the crowd in such a way is highly commendable, the effortless charisma combined with the band’s mental and physical energy is something rarely seen in bands nowadays, and it was a pleasure to experience.
‘Fallout’ was definitely one of the most impressive songs on the night. While not being as acclaimed as the band’s popular songs such as ‘Homesick’ and ‘Kathleen’, the raw emotion and commitment to the song within the band was something of a masterpiece to watch. From every member of the crowd jumping to the incredible bass drums by Bob Hall, to the intense atmosphere created within the venue, this song stood out among the set as a truly brilliant performance.
Upon arriving, expectations were very high, and upon exiting, it’s fair to say that Catfish and the Bottlemen did not disappoint.
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