Nothing But Thieves performing their Moral Panic Tour at The Motorpoint Arena Nottingham on Saturday 16th October 2021



Images and Review by Kevin Cooper

Nothing But Thieves, the five melodic rockers from Southend-on-Sea, were at the Motorpoint Arena last night, for the last night of their UK tour and they were clearly delighted to finally get the chance to play their best selling new album, and the follow up EP to their loyal following.

Opening with fans favourite, Futureproof, from their latest album, Moral Panic, the whole arena lit up in a roar of excitement as the crowd started screaming the lyrics right back at them. They followed up with another newbie, Real Love Song, which showcased their ferocious talent along with Conor Mason’s haunting and almost operatic vocals.

They played hit after hit; the rockers playing their most popular and upbeat songs, leaving the arena ecstatic and entranced with each guitar riff and bass line, such as with I Was Just A Kid which saw Mason bouncing across the stage.

With Mason’s fierce passion for performance, there was no let up. It is his voice that binds everything together, whether he is barking out a rap or casually jumping into falsetto over the brooding bass line of Trip Switch. Songs such as Forever And Ever More and Is Everybody Going Crazy? had devotees young and old on their feet and wanting more.

Particles was a real mass arm swinger, whilst the cathartic Sorry resembled a particularly virulent splicing of Snow Patrol and Biffy Clyro with a Killers style guitar solo thrown in for luck, whilst main set closer Amsterdam was an assured loud head banger.

On for an encore of I’m Not Made By Design and new song Impossible, it was hard to see why it has taken almost a decade for Nothing But Thieves to make their mark, but with the crowd on their feet and wanting more, that mark is certainly indelible.