Catfish and The Bottlemen LIVE @ Strawberry Fields Festival 09.08.2014.

Everybody just cannot get enough of the hottest band of 2014, and this time it was Leicester’s turn.

After a dreary, dull afternoon, with the rain pounding down, the clock hits quarter to seven in the evening and the crowds leave the tents in which they have been sheltering, and head towards the main stage – Catfish and The Bottlemen are in town.

Earlier in the day I bumped into Van and Larry, and it’s clear Van is ecstatic to play, as is Larry to work his magic on the stage, despite travelling all the way down from Scotland throughout the early morning. With big smiles and firm handshakes, I leave the boys to go and relax before they prep themselves for another memorable performance.

Catfish walk on to arguably the largest crowd of the day and there is an essence of excitement and a buzz of eagerness from the crowd. As soon as Van and the boys begin playing, the gloomy atmosphere is uplifted and the crowd instantly switch to party-mode. Once again, Catfish have brought the remedy for tired souls and heavy hangovers, with many happy faces around the crowd.

As already well-established singles ‘Kathleen’, ‘Fallout’ and ‘Cocoon’ hit the walls of Strawberry Fields it is easily noticed these are essentially brilliant live songs. ‘Kathleen’ with its energy and linguistically mastery, the masses can relate to its choruses and bounce like puppets whilst front man Van McCann plays the role of puppeteer. Whereas ‘Fallout’ is a bit mellower, or perhaps calmer would be a better word, but still undoubtedly contains the rhythm and notion flowing throughout to maintain the energy in which it needs to thrive to become an excellent live song, allowing the crowd to add to the harmonies, creating a magical moment. ‘Cocoon’ once again brings a rise in intensity, along side with energy, as it denies the crowd the right to slow down, which is graceful and keeps the live show as majestic as it was when the first note rang out.

Although experiencing some sound problems from the speaker facing him, Van troops on throughout, giving the crowd everything he’s got – he, as well as the other boys in the band, never fall short, and their efforts truly do pay off, just another reason why they deserve their swiftly growing success. They walk off to an enchanting noise of uproar and cheers that ultimately summarises their brilliant performance.

You can witness the uprising of the hottest band of the year for yourself during their U.K tour in November/December, although you should act rapidly if you want your tickets as they are selling out like gold dust, these guys are untouchable right now and if you’ve seen them live, you’ll understand why.

James Cummins.

@CummyBear.

 

 

 

 

James Cummins

James Cummins

James Cummins

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