The crowd murmured and fidgeted excitedly; DMA’s had warmed everyone up brilliantly but the anticipation for the Courteeners to come on purified the room. Above frantic chants from the avid fans filling Nottingham Rock City and a synchronized chorus of Not Nineteen Forever, The Smiths ‘How Soon Is Now’ faded in. I have never been to a gig with as much prospect and mutual elation. As everyone sang along in unison it became more and more apparent that this would be the last wait we would have to endure before the big moment. The song faded out and all that was left was the roars and cheers.
Finally, and most definitely worth the wait, Liam, Mark, Daniel and Michael filed onto the small stage. Without a word, they went straight into White Horses-what a way to start! The atmosphere becomes more alive than ever and the crowd danced without question. Liam sang beautifully from the start-absolutely mastering live performance.
Third song in, we heard the faint and teasing bassline to a classic song, and the crowd knew just what was coming. Cavorting! The bass fastened and Rock City lit up-it as incredible! Everyone jumped and danced and the band looked just as excited as the fans. The atmosphere was unfaultable. There as something about this gig that seemed to make all of the post-gig bruises and getting covered in beer absolutely okay.
Next came The Opener, Summer, Are You In Love With a Notion? And a few after; each song just as awesomely performed as the next. In well need of a break, Liam took his time to interact with the crowd. “A lot of people have been saying bad things about our fans, but we think you’re fucking awesome!” The crowd as off again! Alas, a gig isn’t a gig without a slow and moving song. Liam came out with his acoustic and gifted us with 4 amazingly performed songs; Sunflower, Smiths Disco, Please Don’t and Bide Your Time. What I loved about this particular gig was the fact that the Courteeners didn’t just focus on their knew album, they went from St. Jude to Concrete Love and everything in between.
Wrapping up with a fantastic encore, after Next Time You Call and Here Come The Young Men, we reached the moment we’d all been waiting for…Not Nineteen Forever! It was electric. There is nothing more exciting than hearing such an awesome song live. The crowd hadn’t tired, and finally, giving us our last chance to go crazy, the Courteeners said goodbye with a brilliant rendition of What Took You So Long? Leaving us all to file out drenched in sweat and beer; what an absolutely fantastic night.
This was the kind of gig you could jump and dance to even without knowing the words. Absolutely amazing is all I can say.
Sophie Studd
