Nothing But Thieves [Live Review – The O2 Forum Kentish Town, London, 31/3/2016]
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Watching a band get big feels great when you know they really deserve it. There’s no doubt that Nothing But Thieves have put the time in and then some – and last night, they kicked off their latest UK tour in front of a rammed 2,300-capacity O2 Forum.
It went pretty well.
I remember seeing Nothing But Thieves play a small-scale set in Guildford back in the day – and at the Forum, they were greeted like the Proper Rock Stars they’re finally becoming. From note one of Itch, you’re talking complete and utter rapture bordering on the religious.
Holy fuck.
Stage-owning presence; spicy songwriting; a completely unique and inimitable collective personality. These guys have it all. A massive venue-wide clapalong welcomes instant classic Painkiller, a song born to be pumped through a fuck-off massive PA directly into the ears of the Nothing But Thieves faithful. Jesus (would probably be taking notes if he were in attendance).
Singalong time for Hostage’s main hook, and the band-audience energy feedback loop that fuels all the best gigs is firmly in place. Cue one band who are straight up nailing it, and one audience who’ve already gotten their money’s worth.
I guess the rest of this set can be considered gratis.
Hanging brings the house down with an a cappella moment inducing much hand-waving; the melancholy Graveyard Whistling dips dynamically with the grace of a brokenhearted ballerina; and Excuse Me’s falsetto-driven, Muse-evoking epicness continues Nothing But Thieves’ winning streak.
Honestly, this was probably one of the best gigs any rock fan could hope to see this year. Fucking fair play. By the time Excuse Me’s bridge hits, and the first pit of the night opens up, there’s only one conclusion you can draw here.
Nothing But Thieves have arrived.
Honey Whiskey gets a couple of thousand sets of hips grooving to one of Nothing But Thieves’ fattest beats. The word “throbbing” just has to be used here, even though I know an editor friend of mine is going to read this, and that word makes him feel queasy. Sorry Dan. Had to be done.
Standing ovation for Honey Whiskey on the balcony too. Deserved.
One cover of The Pixies’ Where Is My Mind later, Drawing Pins’ pure filth turns up the winning-sleaze factor and adds in a bend-happy guitar duel. Then some nan-acknowledgement; blissfully dark serenade Tempt You; and no sign of flagging energy whatsoever.
Good thing, too, because it’s time for Wake Up Call, delivered with perfect poise and balanced force. Such a tune – and a quality contender for crowd favourite so far alongside Honey Whiskey.
Encore time, after a frenzied “NBT” chant, insane screaming and (just behind me on the balcony, so unfortunately a bit too far away from the stage to be heard) at least one marriage proposal. I guess there’s always email for that. And Facebook. And Twitter…
Nothing But Thieves’ encore kicks off with If I Get High, in front of countless lighters and phone torches. Gorgeous. Frontman Conor Mason manages to stay standing as well, despite pushing his voice to its limits.
Trip Switch. If that song were any sexier, it’d be illegal – and its chorus could be weaponised. At the Forum, though, the power of full-on rock’n’roll is used for good – and we’re moving on into Ban All The Music.
One word: Meltdown.
In some circles, rock is declared dead on a regular basis. On last night’s evidence: bollocks. Nothing But Thieves’ heaviest, most in-your-face song freaked the entire Forum out while Conor Mason went crowdsurfing, and the balcony crowd stayed standing, directing absolute idol worship stageward.
It bears repeating: All of this is deserved. If you were there, you know it. If you weren’t, get on board with Nothing But Thieves ASAP and find out what you’re missing.
Go!
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