Everything Everything Light Up Rock City
Published
What’s clear almost immediately as Everything Everything set foot onto the stage at Rock City is not only the love the crowd have for the alt rock band, but the love they have for performing. Dressed in matching outfits, as well as matching wide grins, this band display the mix of confidence, gratitude and excitement that make their shows such a pleasure to watch.
The crowd as a whole starts the show fairly static, but a noticeable group of slightly intoxicated people in the centre do their best to create some movement. As the show progresses, this movement gradually spreads across the floor, the enthusiasm infectious. The setlist features songs pulled from all three of Everything Everything’s studio albums, sure to satisfy any fan. As well as the lively favourites of ‘Cough Cough’, ‘Photoshop Handsome’ and ‘Don’t Try’, Rock City is treated to a showcase of lead singer Johnathan Higgs’ vocal skills, most notably on ‘Riot On The Ward’, the ‘B side’ track on the CD release of 2010’s ‘Schoolin’’
As a self-defined ‘pop’ act (though this doesn’t do justice to the wide range of influences obvious in their songwriting), it seems obvious that a large performance such as this would be well choreographed. While the band look quite natural, Higgs seems slightly more restrained than in previous shows, his movements around the stage well-timed and well-measured: in the grand scheme of the gig, however, this is barely noticeable, and the impeccably programmed light show gives an even tighter appearance to the performance. None of this is to say that there’s no spontaneity-Higgs at one point dedicates a song “to that really pregnant woman who’s here. Wake up, baby!”.
The final song, ‘Spring, Sun, Winter, Dread’ ebbs to a fade as the band walk off stage, and the lights fade to black. Chants of “we want more!” spring up throughout the audience, as a red light illuminates the back of Rock City, before fading to black again repeatedly. A quick jacket change takes place offstage, and the group return, triumphant, to the stage, starting ‘No Reptiles’ as members of the audience clamber onto each other’s shoulders, giving the encore a brief festival feel. Finally closing with ‘Distant Past’, the crowd are moving again, singing them out.
COMMENTS
-
One of my favourite bands at the moment
-
One of my favourite bands at the moment
