Courteeners, O2 Academy, Birmingham - review
Since when has being at a gig been like going to a football game? It was the sound which hit me first.
Walking slowly up the stairs into the O2 Academy in Birmingham I first heard the noise of a football-style chant - the raucous, young crowd in the cauldron beckoning support act Gerry Cinnamon onto the stage.
Obviously, the volume went up another level for the arrival of the Courteeners an hour later.
But it wasn't just the singing from this well-lubricated young audience.
As the five-piece band later performed the Encore, performing Not Nineteen Anymore, the rowdy crowd really erupted. Plastic glasses of beer flew across the packed hall, arms punched the air.... and people stood topless, slapping their bare chests.
At the end, the crowd burst out a song about West Bromwich Albion.
If I shut my eyes I could have been at next weekend's Blues Villa derby.
But unlike a shaky PA system from the Doug Ellis stand, the music was good. It was very good.
The crowd loudly sung along with lead singer Liam Fray to the hits (Are You in Love With A Notion, Modern Love and What Took So Long) and the atmosphere was electric.
Ten years ago this band hit prominence with the album St Jude. Roll forward four more albums, and the music is still going strong. New songs received a warm reception from the crowd, proving the worth.
A mention for Gerry Cinnamon, however.
For audience engagement, uplifting music and powerful lyrics (Google them), Glasgow-born Gerry, and his cheeky laugh, he's also one to see again.
