LIVE: Catfish and The Bottlemen @ Manchester Academy

Rating:

Last year saw Catfish and The Bottlemen go from cramming 100 capacity venues in all corners of the UK to starting 2015 as guests on the David Letterman Show. It is easy to list the successes this band has had in the past 12 months, however there are simply too many to count.

It’s a train journey through predictably vast areas of fields; when the addition of yet another delayed train assured that arrival before the opening of the venue doors was most definitely an un-obtainable feat. A packed Piccadilly showed evidence of successful merch selling. Greeted by a hoard of 18 year old lads all dotted with some sort of memorabilia – t-shirt, wristband, even a portable speaker blasting The Balcony. This did cause some annoyance to a pin-striped middle aged man, but it was evident from then on that this was an incredibly anticipated performance.

After playing at the slightly smaller Ritz back in December, fans were eager not to miss out this time around. Talking to a couple in the crowd, they had travelled up from Bristol on a Mega Bus to see the band and had been waiting for some time to get into the Academy. With a following that is so supportive it would be impossible not to predict further chart, festival, radio, tv… domination. McCann understands the importance of the bands fan base. Not only has it been well established and continuing to grow but it has been 5-years in the making. His appreciation is shown often, frequently saying “thank you” and “you man so much to us” giving the sense that they are very grateful for every pint holding punter in the room.

The first raucous cheer of the evening came when debatably the most famous back-line tech, Larry, came on to link check. Catfish are so well loved that even their crew has a fan base. The lights went down and it went off. Brash chants followed with the audience assuring themselves of their current location. The Pirates of the Caribbean theme tune provided a platform of tension before the lights dropped once more and Catfish proceeded onto stage.

Clothing, drinks and people were liberally chucked about throughout the set much to the delight of the band, not to say the same about security. After a small technical hitch, multiple Twitter and Facebook requests were answered when the band played popular b-side ‘Asa’; during which the soundmen frantically tried to shed light on a silent drum kit.

The audience was a diverse one of all ages and fames. Some of the bands in residence included Blossoms and The Family Rain. What has drawn such a wide audience is the popularity of singles such as ‘Cocoon’ and ‘Kathleen’ on mainstream radio, notably Radio 1. There were some clear musos as well as first time gig goers who were amazed by the whole scene, which proves how well-crafted and accessible Catfish and The Bottlemen’s anthem like tunes are. And anthems they were delivered as. ‘Homesick’ was a favourite as an unbelievable amount took to each other’s shoulders and screamed the lyrics. Many a time throughout, Van’s vocals were unnecessary as the crowd carried each song themselves in perfect timing.

At times, Catfish and The Bottlemen can come across as “Van McCann with a backing band” especially as there is little interaction between members on stage. Johnny ‘Bondy’ Bond’s precise guitar strokes, Benji Blakeway’s relentless bass and Bob Hall’s meticulous drum beat are often over looked.

Every song performed from the album got the reaction of a number 1 single. Whether that is the heartfelt ‘Business’ or fast paced ‘26’. Cutting the storming electricity of their set, Van summoned the rest of the band off stage in order to strip back to the acoustic rawness that is ‘Hourglass’. Hearing every crack of emotion in his voice validated the connection with the audience. It doesn’t look like it will be long before lead Van McCann will be able to buy that Jacuzzi for his mum; they’ll be selling out arenas.