Last night, the Classic Grand bared witness to one of the worlds best live bands of the moment, Catfish and the Bottlemen.
For me this concert signifies the end of a nearly three year torment, waiting to see this band live. Not that I haven't tried but every concert before now in the city had some restriction, like the Broadcast in February this year was 18+. When watching their sets from Radio One's big weekend, Reading and Leeds and T in the Park, I could finally watch knowing I was seeing them live soon enough.
The Classic Grand was probably the perfect place for a concert like this. It allowed people to be so close to the stage, because of the size hundreds of people can't fit in so it becomes more intimate and personal. It was one of the few concerts where you could just talk to people beside you, even if you didn't know them, and it wouldn't look out of place or unnatural. For the full time, you could hear people being amazed at how close McCann was to the crowd.
The band themselves, utterly incredible. Their just so talented, even managing to get a full crowd to watch them and not watching the Scotland vs Ireland game - which in itself is an achievement. The game and then 1-0 home victory wasn't ignored, whenever McCann mentioned the game or the score the crowd would start singing, typical of a Glaswegian crowd.
The bands debut album, The Balcony, has been just over two months and already people know it word for word perfect. It's a funny thing to see a full crowd try and sing a song, like Pacifier or Homesick perfectly, knowing each riff and pause. At points the crowd sand alone, with McCann and the rest of the band bearing witness, to the perhaps the obliteration of their song.McCann's energy seemed to have no bounds, even at the end of the night, in the last few chords of the final song, Tyrants, he looked as if he could do it all over again.
This band have somehow managed to steal everyones hearts. They've came from nothing special, toured for years just so people can hear their name and earn money to live from, perusing their dreams. Even Larry, the bands roadie and Van's best friend, is adored. This band are genuinely incredible. They've got something special in their music which no one else really has. Comparing them to the Arctic Monkeys in a way is a criticism because they have their own stories, aspirations.
In spring 2015 their on another UK tour which is starting to sell out already, but I honestly suggest for anyone who gets the chance to go and see them live. Their amazing and its a concert which no other band can replicate.
They've got a sound thats different and unique and a story to match it. They might just manage to take over the world.