It was Catfish and the Bottlemen‘s first ever Sydney show on Monday night – in the country acting as a support act to The Kooks. The support act for Catfish, however, were Sydney group Food Court, who proved themselves a tight outfit, bringing forth some surfy vibes – think Wavves and you’re on the right track. They sung songs about drinking wine and having a good time – one should expect no less.
Of the set highlights were “Fourteen Years Young”, definitely one of their most danceable tracks, and their latest single – “On The River” – which closed the night. The track which came before, whose name I didn’t catch, was another highlight, seeing the band jam – something which they proved themselves well suited towards. Indeed, they were best when the jammed, and combine that with their very listenable singles and we have a band you should very much be keeping an eye on – live and on record.
But it was Welsh group Catfish and the Bottlemen who the crowd had come to see, and indeed it was an impressive show of support for a band who told us, “It took us 7 years to get a crowd like this in the UK!”. And as the set went on, and the support from the crowd only grew, you cold tell that not only did they mean it – but they meant it to the point that they were surprised to have come all this way to receive a reception like this, “it’s overwhelming… I can’t tell you how much this means”, said their lead vocalist.
Indeed, it’s impossible not to write this review without calling Van McCann a humble lead vocalist. An artist who has the rockstar swagger you’d expect, with none of the ego – but a perfect voice to boot. And man if that band aren’t one of the tightest around right now – though they’ve got years of live experience under their belt to thank for that.
The set was pretty simple: the band came on to the sounds of “Roses” by OutKast and wasted no time, jumping into the track “Rango”. From there, they ran through their debut LP The Balcony in its entirety – albeit not in order – with the album closer “Tyrants” finishing up their set, Van leaving his guitar hanging from the roof as the feedback bounced around the room and the chances for an encore evaporated.
Stand out moments included “Fallout” and “Cocoon”, which the band were excited to have featured in the latest version of FIFA, calling it a “dream come true”. The set closer saw the band get into a stellar jam, as the energy of the room became palpable. They definitely left us wanting more.
The did, however, promise to be back before the year is up. Indeed, this feels like the start of a long love affair from a band who definitely deserve to become one of the biggest bands out of the UK… and I’d be really surprised if they didn’t get there. They have the songs, they have the swagger and they are killer live.
