ShareAmber Run performing their How To Be Human Tour at Rock City Nottingham on Saturday 15th April 2023.
Images and Review by Kevin Cooper
The Nottingham based trio Amber Run brought their astounding mix of indie guitar riffs and soulful ballads to Rock City on Saturday night, and the predominantly young crowd could hardly contain their excitement.
Touring to promote their fourth studio album, How To Be Human, vocalist and guitarist Joe Keogh, bassist Tom Sperring and keyboardist Henry Wyeth immediately generated an electric stage presence that filled the venue with adrenaline.
Opening with new song The Beautiful Victorious, they delivered a set list that was a whirlwind of old and new that had the crowd hanging on their every word. There was the booming anthem Just My Soul Responding with its soaring chorus before the atmospheric fan favourite Stranger which Keogh brought alive with his emotional and clear vocals, as he did with the sombre Fickle Game.
And when they played their 2018 single Carousel the crowd went wild with excitement, with strong solos from Spelling and intense pinging of Wyeth’s keyboard. With the balance of slow and fast tempos which invited the crowd to partake on an emotional roller coaster, new songs Honeylight, Hurt and the album’s title track all served to add to the ride.
There was the very evocative and emotional 5am which saw Keogh’s pure vocal talent laid bare and brilliant, before they returned to the heavier head banging Neon Circus. What Could Be As Lonely As Love and main set closer No Answers got the crowd clapping and singing along, as their thumping drum beats combined with their meaningful and memorable lyrics had the crowd erupting into exclamations of excitement.
For the encore there was new song The Last Dance on which Keogh’s vocals simply excelled, which continued for the beautiful I Found, their 2014 single. With the evening being brought to an end with an uplifting rendition of Spark, Amber Run had certainly brought the house down.
