It’s been a long 18 months but finally, live music has returned if not with just a few rules still to follow.
Most venues in the UK ask that you meet one of three entry requirements. These include:
- Proof that you are fully vaccinated (the second one being received at least 14 days before the event)
- Proof of a negative lateral flow test result within 24 hours of the event
- Proof of immunity with a positive pcr test result within 180 days of the event and the 10 day isolation period has passed
Nothing But Thieves – O2 Academy Oxford
Once we were in, our time queuing for the bar was soundtracked by Hastings alternative punks Kid Kapichi, who’s take on punk rock has a raw sound while still sounding tight and organised. Their set was very enjoyable and I’ll be keeping my eyes on them in future.
Nothing But Thieves started their set with some real intensity opening with one of my favourites, ‘Amsterdam’. “I’m so sorry, it’s been a while” said an apologetic Conor Mason as he forgot the words to ‘I Was Just a Kid’ but he was more than forgiven as he put on an incredible vocal performance throughout the whole evening.
The acoustic guitar made a couple of appearances for songs such as ‘Soda’ and ‘If I Get High’ but was put away in time for ‘Made By Design’. This band always astounds me with their versatility. One minute you’re part of a heartfelt singalong and the next, a swirling circle pit.
It’s really hard to believe that live music has been away for so long because everything about this evening felt so natural and normal. The crowd were passionate but respectful the whole time and it made for a lovely welcome back for myself. I look forward to seeing Nothing But Thieves again in October at the O2 Arena.
Twin Atlantic – O2 Academy Oxford
I didn’t have to wait much longer for my next gig as I returned to the Oxford O2 Academy the very next day for Scottish legends Twin Atlantic.
After a traditional pre-gig meal (Nandos this time) we made our way across Cowley Road and were one of the first in the room thanks to O2 priority. We made the most of the empty bar before finding a spot for support act, ‘BLOXX’.
I always love it when a support act just looks like they’re having tonnes of fun on stage and BLOXX seemed to be having a great time! They came straight out of the blocks (hehe) with bags of energy and they really warmed up the crowd. 5000 miles stood out for me for it’s catchy chorus and fun pop-rock vibes. And vibes really is the word for BLOXX, they were fantastic!
The crowd had another moment to warm up their vocal cords as Bohemian Rhapsody played over the speakers although you could barely hear it for the volume of the people singing.
Twin Atlantic opened with divisive new single ‘Bang on the Gong’, which meant the night could only get better. But it did and very quickly. I was surprised to see a decent number of old favourites in the set including ‘Make a Beast of Myself’ , ‘Edit Me’ and even ‘What Is Light, Where Is Laughter’ from 2009’s ‘Vivarium’. We were even treated to 2 acoustic songs, ‘Oceans’ and ‘Crash Land’.
I was yet again impressed by the vocal performance on show, this time from Sam McTrusty who’s distinct Scottish pipes almost took the roof off before using his superb crowd interaction skills to rip it off with their help.
I wasn’t sure if I was still much of a Twin Atlantic fan as their recent music hasn’t been as enjoyable for me as their older releases however, as they played us out to Heart and Soul, I was reaching the end of an evening where I had been strongly reminded of what a great band they are and probably always will be.
IDLES – O2 Academy Oxford
Ending this trilogy of Oxford gigs was the incredible IDLES. Truck Store brought them to the O2 Academy for a belated celebration of the release of album ‘Ultra Mono’, my review of which you can find here: https://thebirdbox.home.blog/2020/09/26/album-review-idles-ultra-mono/
It should’ve come as no surprise then really that songs from that album made up a large portion of the set (8 songs to be precise). ‘War’ and ‘Grounds’ opened the set before Mr. Motivator was dedicated to the fans for their support during the pandemic. Frontman Joe Talbot announced that he would be performing ‘The Lover’ on his knees as he had forgotten the lyrics and had to read them from a tiny sheet on the floor.
The lyric sheet would not be needed for the rest of the evening as the second half of the set mostly explored the previous 2 albums. The crowd chanted loudly and proudly for ‘Mother’ and opened up the pit for ‘Television’ and ‘Divide and Conquer’ before the absolute chaos of ‘Love Song’ where both guitarists ended up either in or on the crowd. Lee ended up standing on the bar while Mark screamed his unique renditions of Radiohead and Spice Girls with so much enthusiasm that he could barely talk afterwards.
‘Danke’ worked perfectly well as a set closer with Talbot adding some support to Jon Beavis on drums before declaring “I will now go backstage and shit myself”.
IDLES do a perfect job of tackling important subject matter while still allowing their personalities and sense of humour to show through their performance and providing a fun, high energy set. There were a couple of fan favourites absent from the setlist such as ‘Colossus’ and ‘Danny Nedelko’ but this was barely noticeable due to the quality of their music catalogue.
Of the three, this was the one where I truly felt that live music had made a full return. I was able to lose myself in the pit in a safe environment with no fears whatsoever. Any worries and stresses from the last 18 months were forgotten about and left outside the door.
You can see what I got up to on the Ragamuffin Music Podcast YouTube channel and subscribe to see more vlogs in future.
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