CATFISH & THE BOTTLEMEN + TWIN ATLANTIC – BRIGHTON CENTRE 02.05.19
The weekend started early with a visit to Brighton Centre on a Thursday night to catch Welsh Indie Rockers Catfish and the Bottlemen. Brighton was one of the lucky cities to be chosen for a short arena tour to promote their new album ‘The Balance’ which entered the charts this week at number two, before they embark on a world tour taking in Europe, USA, Japan and Australia. They will be headlining the Citadel Festival at Gunnersbury Park (I used to play football there in my prime!) in West London on July 14th but otherwise you will have to wait until November to see them back on these shores and then you will have to travel a minimum of 180 miles to the most southerly show in Birmingham. So tonight, I was one of the lucky four and a half thousand people to be attending this local sold out show.
For me personally Catfish and the Bottlemen are one of those bands that I have heard played on the transistor radio, I mean DAB radio as I have upgraded since the eighties, but they have never quite grabbed my imagination with a tune that has made me want to go out and buy one of their recordings. This week though I made a special effort and listened to the new album in preparation for tonight. Walking to the gig it became clearer as to maybe why they had not been on my radar as the demographic of the crowd was young teenage up to mid-twenties, with the odd parent accompanying. I’m sure there must have been older people dotted around the venue, but at 55 years old I was feeling my age, though maybe not so much as my friend who was attending his first gig since turning 60. This was rammed home when on picking up my tickets from the box office I found that I was to be sat in the front row of the balcony. I honestly can’t recall the last time that I sat down at a gig, but at least I would have the opportunity to take some notes as it is usually impossible when in the heart of the mosh pit, but sadly there would be no setlist to add to my collection tonight.
First up tonight was Glaswegian Alternative Rockers Twin Atlantic. With two top ten albums behind them this was one support band not to be missed and that was apparent to the audience as the venue was rapidly filling up as they came onstage.
Not realising that lead singer Sam’s footballing allegiances lie with the wrong half of Glasgow, I was able to report on the set without any preconceptions or misgivings which is good as they put on a decent set including six singles, in spite of Sam claiming that they were not match fit and how much they detest going to the gym in order to get so. They have been working a new album for two years in amongst touring and told us in no uncertain terms that they are rather tired.
Tonight, though they owned the stage from the opening introduction: “We’re Twin Atlantic from Glasgow. How the f*ck are you Brighton?” which always sounds great in a Scottish brogue. By the second song ‘Hold On’ released as a single in 2014, the crowd had their hands held aloft and were singing along. By the third there were pockets of mosh pits developing on the dancefloor. For ‘Brothers And Sisters’ Sam downed his guitar and had the crowd jumping along as he roamed the stage in true rock star style. There was even a mention for those of us in the balcony “Are yous in the seats paying attention?” to which I responded with a muffled cheer and a wave of my arm. The eight-song set ended with their biggest hit to date ‘Heart And Soul’ which peaked at number 17 in the UK charts in 2014, which was the perfect finale. There was no doubt that Twin Atlantic had sufficiently warmed the crowd up in advance of the main event of the evening.
Tonight’s setlist was:
‘The Chaser’, ‘Hold On’, ‘Free’, ‘Make A Beast Of Myself’, ‘Whispers’, ‘Brothers And Sisters’, ‘No Sleep’, ‘Heart And Soul’.
Twin Atlantic are: Sam McTrusty – lead vocals, rhythm guitar; Barry McKenna – lead guitar, backing vocals; Ross McNae – bass, backing vocals; Craig Kneale – drums, percussion, backing vocals
More information on Twin Atlantic here: www.facebook.com/twinatlantic
From the opening chord of the anthemic ‘Longshot’, the first song off the new Catfish and the Bottlemen album,’ the crowd erupted, and I don’t just mean a few on the dancefloor. This was virtually the whole crowd including the majority of those on the balconies who were stood up and dancing as wildly as is possible in limited space. The perfect song to start off the gig and probably my favourite from their latest release, it is their highest placed single in the UK Chart reaching number 25 earlier in the year. In total they played five tracks from the new album; ‘Sidetrack’, ‘Conversation’, ‘2all’ and ‘Fluctuate’, also getting an outing.
I could even see an inflatable in the mosh pit which I was hoping to be a Catfish from a distance, but disappointingly I suspect that it was a crocodile.
During ‘Soundcheck’ there were points where I could feel my seat vibrating due to the sound which is always a good sign.
Ironically during ‘Pacifier’, another song dedicated to those in the balcony, somebody let off a green smoke bomb/flare in the mosh pit which angered the security staff somewhat and resulted in a group of six people being ejected from the arena. Another first for me as I can’t say that I have ever seen that at a concert before, or at least not in the crowd.
The solo acoustic version of ‘Hourglass’ performed by Van slowed the pace right down and mobile phone torches were switched on brightly as the audience sang along to every word, as they did for most songs. They finished off the 95-minute set with ‘Tyrants’ and the crowd were left satisfied without too many calls for an encore.
Beforehand I was under the misapprehension that Catfish and the Bottlemen had no bangers (as the kids say) in their locker, but tonight I found out in no uncertain terms that is not the case. Pretty much every song was uplifting and the crowd knew all the words. There are resemblances to Feeder, another band I would like to see play live but have yet to do so. I felt like a grumpy old git sat down but that was definitely not the case as I don’t recall enjoying the atmosphere of a concert as much as I did tonight.
This was a polished performance and I can visualise them playing on a much larger stage. The lighting was effective, the screens gave a good clear picture of the band for those of us with failing eyesight and also zoomed in on the mosh pit regularly. In fact, my only regret about tonight was not being in the midst of all the dancefloor action as it looked amazing. I would probably have stuck out like a sore thumb but sometimes a mosh pit needs an old head to teach the youngsters some old tricks.
If I went along not really sure what to expect then by the end I was in no doubt that this was the feelgood gig of the year and probably any year. I left the gig feeling like a proud surrogate grandparent and even the naughty boy who let off the smoke bomb wasn’t going to get a telling off from me as I was on such a high. I suspect that after tonight’s performance I will find Catfish and the Bottlemen on my playlist when I want a bit of cheering up.
As I mentioned there was no encore, but on leaving the venue there was a busker on hand surrounded by a crowd of young gig revellers dancing and singing along to his rendition of ‘Mr Brightside.’ I was so joyful that I was even tempted to join in, but time was against me in my race to get back to pick up my wife from work. As it was I ended up 40 minutes late and she was stood outside her workplace waiting for me but hey there was nothing that could ruin this night for me!
Tonight’s setlist was:
‘Longshot’, ‘Kathleen’, ‘Soundcheck’, ‘Pacifier’, ‘Twice’, ‘Fallout’, ‘Conversation’, ‘Anything’, ‘Business’, ‘Sidetrack’, ‘Homesick’, ‘2all’, ‘Outside’, ‘Hourglass’, ‘Fluctuate’, ‘7’, ‘Cocoon’, ‘Tyrants’.
Catfish and the Bottlemen are: Van McCann Lead Vocals and guitar, Benji Blakeway – Bass guitar, Robert “Bob” Hall – Drums , Johnny Bond – Lead guitar
More info on Catfish and the Bottlemen at:
Web: www.catfishandthebottlemen.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/catfishandthebottlemen
Twitter: twitter.com/thebottlemen
Instagram: www.instagram.com/catfishandthebottlemen
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Glad you enjoyed the gig!
Just thought I’d add some context to the inflatable,
You mentioned your disappointment that it wasn’t a catfish and that it was a crocodile – that’s the cover of their second album and they’re frequently found at their gigs as well as the occasional toucan from The Balance 🙂