Ahhh, and finally, I was home.
Well… not really. I was actually at the Metro Theatre, though the energy was strangely similar. It was only half an hour until the opening act and the majority of the crowd was getting a beer from the bar, so (of course) we had to follow. The bartender complimented how “cool” we looked — and she wasn’t wrong. Drink in hand, we made our way into the venue.
The floor was almost empty (which in hindsight, was insane compared to the final turnout). We got to the barricade and waited for the moment I’d been yearning for for almost a decade. The crowd was eclectically intergenerational, a testament to the far-reaching impact of the Courteeners. We made friends with the people around us pretty easily — a lot of the conversations consisted of:
‘Where are you from?” I said.
“Manchester, what about you?” they said.
“Edinburgh!”
“Oh my God!” they screamed in unison.
After 30 minutes of sing-along to a shuffled playlist of the UK’s best indie-rock, BIIG TIME filtered out from the side of the stage. The small, new band is composed of lead guitarist of DMA’s Johnny Took and his brother Matty Took. After recent discussion about the DMA’s state of music with Took’s new side-project, concerns were nipped in the bud in a social media post when Took claimed that “the DMA’s are just getting started”. With their style self-described as “fuzzed out pop-rock”, the band had the crowd bopping away, whilst the back of the venue started picking up to full capacity. After a 30-minute set, the band finished up and set up for Courteeners to come on stage.
Having released their debut album, ‘St. Jude’, in 2008, Courteeners hit number one on the UK charts fifteen years later in 2023 for the revisited album, breaking the record for the longest gap between the release and hitting the top of the charts. Courteeners are a staple in any indie freaks’ playlists, alongside similar bands like Catfish and the Bottlemen, Kasabian and Blossoms. This show was, surprisingly, Courteeners’ debut tour in Australia.The buzz and anticipation highlighted that fans have noticed their lack of presence throughout the years. Holding hands and dancing along to the waiting music with my friend filled the next half hour until the lights dimmed in the audience.
The band made their way into the spotlight, starting off with one of their most popular songs ‘Are You in Love With a Notion?’ I fell straight back into my teenage state, listening to it with my decorated wire-earphones in the back of English class. Once the first couple of songs had finished, lead singer Liam Fray spoke to the crowd about… well, I couldn’t quite hear him over the crowd’s chants of “LEE-UUM, LEE-UUM” and so forth. I will admit very proudly that I did partake in the chants.
My friend told me that it’s the “best crowd” she’s ever been in, but to me, the energy felt exactly as it does in the not-so-sunny lands of the UK. Friendly faces chit-chatting in every break, happy strangers grabbing your shoulders to get you dancing and jumping with them, and the ever-so-loud singing to the point you could barely hear the band. It was homely. It was inviting. It was a safe haven.
Courteeners traversed old school bangers to songs from their newest album ‘Pink Cactus Cafe’. There wasn’t a single part of the night where the majority of the crowd didn’t know the words: a testament to the scale of how loved the band is. After a long set of a perfect mix of synth-pop and post-punk indie, the band thanked the crowd and left the stage. Chants filled the small theatre:
“One more song, one more song!”
Courteeners didn’t stick to the typical one or two song encore; they instead played another 5 song set of some of their most beloved songs, including ‘Not Nineteen Forever’ and ‘Cavorting’. A mosh pit formed, which I was forcefully, yet not upsettingly, brought into. Though jumping around in heeled boots wasn’t the most comfortable, it was a sweaty and invigorating space to be in.
The biggest surprise of the night was when Tommy O’Dell from the DMA’s was brought out on stage to play their latest collaboration with Courteeners, ‘The Beginning of the End’. It was an ethereal scene, one that you would visualise to be in an ‘80/‘90s music video. With its introspective lyrics about revisiting the past self, it was an incredible end to a show that took us through the ages of the career of Courteeners.
After a flash into my past self, I got home and was transported back to the present. I was back in Newtown about to go to the club as I normally would. It will forever be a night to remember. Not only because of the good music, but because of the culture Courteeners have created over the years.
Want to hear Liam Fray’s thoughts on music through the generations, starting out small, and perspectives on writing? Read an interview with Courteeners’ lead singer here!
