Walking onstage to a screaming crowd, Catfish and the Bottlemen leave no time before launching into their single, “Rango”: an obvious crowd pleaser. This song, one that was written about that age-old problem of escaping small town life for something more exciting, has given them exceptional notice from Radio 1, being placed in Huw Stephens 100 hottest records of 2013. It’s short, sharp and sweet; never failing to instantly captivate the crowd.
After playing over 100 shows last year, these boys are no strangers to an audience. You can expect a good laugh from frontman Van McCann as he livens up the crowd with rowdy comments; McCann pointed out a very cosy couple and shouted “Snog her! Go on son!” in his thick northern accent, only for the theatre lights and curious eyes to be shined upon the pair. From their interaction with the crowd, to their enthusiastic presence on twitter they are extremely confident and this truly enhances their performance.
After mumblings of genuine “Thank You” they jumped into their latest single ‘Pacifier’ which was added to the Radio 1 ‘In new music we trust’ playlist. The whole theatre echoed with roars of lyrics “I’m her pacifierrrrrrrrrr” as the band bounced in unison. This tight, four piece indie-rock band recently signed to Communion Records (Ben Howard, Half Moon Run) and graced the summer stages at Reading & Leeds festival, suggesting that small venues are a thing of the past.
The room erupted with screams of pleasure as singer Van McCann began the opening riff of ‘Tyrants’ evidently saving the best till last as they held the attention of the whole room.
In the anticipated last few bars of the closing song Billy and Benji step back in order for Van to give it his all. He channels every last ounce of energy into a furious heads down rock-out approach. Things have got so energetic and out of control before, McCann has actually received head injuries. His dedication is nothing short of impressive and his passion for the music beams throughout.
The majority of the engaged audience were female (swooning over Van McCann’s signature mop of locks) with a sprinkling of hormone-fuelled male students shouting “Van do a striptease for us!”. Impressively, what the crowd lacked in numbers they made up in belting back memorised lyrics, which evidently stunned the band. Their music is entwined with slick licks, heavy racing drums and McCann’s raspy and alluring vocals in which the crowd fully immersed themselves.
The set was short lasting only 35 minutes which was slightly disappointing considering they were the headline act and to nit pick I could say that the set was somewhat repetitive. Also, more worryingly, this gig meant it was the third time I’d seen the band sporting the exact same clothes… I think a Catfish shopping spree is in order.
Despite any slight failings of this performance, it felt emotional watching Catfish play to hundreds of admiring faces when only months back I was watching them play a venue the size of a toilet cubicle. In the end who cares if they wear the same outfit or it’s difficult to keep track of which song they’re playing? When Bob drums to the beat of our racing hearts as the last line is uttered and we must return to our mundane lives, we all come to the same conclusion. These guys rock.
Fran Welch
Fran Welch
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