It’s never easy being the opening band when there aren’t many people at a show and sadly Eli take a little while to fully get into the swing of things. Whilst the songs were good, they didn’t have much of a stage presence until they were nearing the end of their set, which was a shame because they had the potential to be quite good.
The next band, Nothing New, instantly kicked The Moon Club into life, full of energy as they jumped about the stage. With it being their first gig since November 2011, there were a fair few mistakes in the set, but it was a fun performance so I don’t think anyone really minded. The set was filled with catchy tunes – I just know the choruses of some of them are going to be stuck in my head for days – and they even threw in a cover of the Vanessa Carlton Song ‘A Thousand Miles’, insisting the crowd sang along with them for it.
Headliners Cars On Fire were on fire (all horrible puns aside) and instantly made use of the space on the floor, with bassist Steve Gregory taking full advantage of this by frequently jumping off the stage and towards the small crowd, which really helped them fully engage with everyone in the room. Chucking in a cover of Therapy?’s Knives for good measure, the set was filled with massive songs, but it was definitely a shame that more people didn’t turn up to see them.
But in the words of vocalist Ali Ross, he said he didn’t mind if the band played to a thousand or ten people, just so long as they had a good time. And as they left the stage to everyone chanting of “Cars On Fire”, I think it’s safe to say that they most certainly did.
7/10
