Sometimes you go to a gig and it just feels special.
This was my sixth time watching The Royston Club and I’ve always felt that they deserve to be bigger than they are, but standing among 2,500 or so people at their headline Manchester Academy show, it feels as if it’s surely only a matter of time until they blow up.
Manchester band Arkyala opened the night and I’d been really excited to watch them but a mix up with my media access meant that sadly I didn’t make it into the venue in time – they sounded great from outside the fire exit though!
The main support was a band called FEET and I was also looking forward to these but the crowd didn’t seem particularly receptive to them despite the lead singer’s best impression of Mark Corrigan at Rainbow Rhythms to try and lift the energy (if you know you know). On a side note, I do wonder if switching the order of the supports around for Manchester would have worked better, especially with Arkayla being a local band.
As 9.15pm and The Royston Club’s set approached, the atmosphere really built back up and became football-esque in that way indie gigs seem to. There was a lovely juxtaposition with the vociferous ‘Royston’ chants over the top of the band’s classical walk out song – ‘Love Theme’ from the Cinema Paradiso soundtrack.
When the opening riff of ‘The Patch Where Nothing Grows’ eventually kicks in, it feels like the roof is going to come off Manchester Academy. It’s such a natural opener and it’s hard to imagine a time when it was starting the set.
Another second album highlight in ‘Glued to the Bed’ follows and is once again treated like an old friend by those in attendance. “Fuck me Manchester, it’s good to be back,” frontman Tom remarks before launching into former gig opener and first debut album track of the night ‘Blisters’.
`But this is the ‘Songs for the Spine’ tour and six of the next eight songs are from their more mature and polished second album. Wedged in the middle of that is one of the unexpected highlights of the night – a gorgeous, goosebump-inducing acoustic rendition of ‘A Tender Curiosity’.
Lead guitarist Ben Matthias is an incredibly gifted young songwriter, responsible for some of the catchiest indie songs of recent times. These are usually sung expertly by Tom Faithfull, who has the charisma to match his impressive vocal ability.
Here, they both trade vocals Peter Doherty and Carl Barat style, albeit much more tenderly than The Libertines frontmen. It’s utterly mesmerising to watch.
For those who are a bigger fan of the debut album, the last four songs of the night will have been an absolute treat.
‘52’ into ‘Mariana’ into ‘I’m a Liar’ meant that the decibel levels rarely dropped below 100 and at that point, it was difficult to imagine the crowd singing anything louder than those.
But then up steps ‘Cariad’ – in my opinion, one of the best crafted songs that an indie band have produced in the past 10 years.
A heart-wrenching break up song that builds slowly into an absolutely incredible bridge, it feels like a collective therapy session as everyone screams the lyrics back at the band. The song has references to God throughout, which is extremely fitting as watching it live is like a religious experience.
The set ran just 15 songs, which seemed odd considering that their debut album tour went to 16. If I had any criticism, it would be that the short set length led to it feeling a bit unbalanced in places. If they’d played 18 or 19 songs, it would have just meant that a few more debut album tracks, such as Shallow Tragedy, Cherophobe and Believe it or Not, could have been there.
That being said, it did feel special and with this gig selling out months in advance, it feels like The Royston Club are very ready for that next step up (just please don’t play Victoria Warehouse).