ShareCourteeners performing at Rock City Nottingham on Tuesday 22nd November 2016
Images and Review by Kevin Cooper
Indie hit makers, Courteeners, broke onto the scene in 2008 with their debut album St Jude and have never looked back. Touring to promote their fifth and latest album, Mapping The Rendezvous, it was a sold out Rock City crowd that welcomed them back to Nottingham last night.
Starting with Are You In Love With A Notion? the crowd instantly went wild as the funky bass lines, furious drum beats and front man Liam Fray’s vocals had everybody in a frenzy. Crowd pleasers Cavorting and Lose Control were given an outing as was Small Bones from their fourth album, Concrete Love.
New songs Modern Love and Lucifer’s Dreams were received with just as much excitement as the oldies as was the anthemic No One Will Ever Replace Us, The Dilettante and the poetic The 17th. Oldies Bide Your Time saw the crowd singing the entire chorus for Fray, before the pace was slowed right down for the romantic Take Over The World from their 2010 album, Falcon.
Fray’s colleagues then left him on stage to treat fans to slow solo acoustic renditions which included De La Salle and Please Don’t which showcased his alluring vocals, as he postured confidently on the stage.
Reunited with his band, Acrylic was greeted fervently by the crowd before they finished with their breakthrough singles Not Nineteen Forever and What Took You So Long, which had this crowd singing the words louder than the band.
Earning a cult like following over the years, on last night’s performance it was easy to see why these masterful indie hit makers can still sell out a venue. This boisterous set was everything that you would expect from this Manchester band and more, as this beer soaked, but happy crowd left having enjoyed a killer live show.