After a long wait, Benedict Watson finally got the chance to see the highly praised Everything Everything, and gives his verdict on whether the gig lived up to his expectations.
Since discovering Everything Everything in January 2021 (they went on to become my no.1 artist on my 2021 Spotify Wrapped!), I’ve been desperate to see them live. A thwarted attempt to see them support Foals at Cardiff Castle last summer meant that I had to wait until the Rock City date on their much-postponed tour. But they certainly lived up to expectations!
Local heroes Do Nothing warmed up the crowd with their aggressive post-punk sound. Lead singer Chris Bailey (claim to fame – he once kissed me on the neck!) had a great presence on stage, leaning over the crowd and spitting out some of their sharpest lyrics with huge vigour. His girlfriend was stood behind us and tapped me on the back to say how nice it was to see us enjoying his music so much! A decent crowd had got in early to see them - as expected given their local fame – and they were treated to a 40 minute set (longer than the usual 30 min support slot – but I was certainly happy with the extra 10 minutes!).
Bang on time, Everything Everything stepped on stage at 8:30 and started with new song Teletype. Most bands do seem keen on starting their set with a new song, but I feel like Bad Friday – the first single from their upcoming album Raw Data Feel – would’ve led to a more energetic start. Nevertheless, the crowd were up for it from the word go.
''With 3 singles already released, this gave the band a conundrum as to how to construct the setlist''
The postponements of the gig have meant that it has taken place at an unusual time for the band. Most bands tour just after the release of an album, however this gig was meant to be part of the tour for fifth album RE-ANIMATOR, but has been postponed for so long that it ended up being only a couple of months before the release of their sixth album! With 3 singles already released, this gave the band a conundrum as to how to construct the setlist. They decided to play an equal number from each album, with 5 from RE-ANIMATOR and the 3 singles from Raw Data Feel – along with 2 unreleased songs (Jennifer and Pizza Boy). Pizza Boy failed to make much of an impression on me, but Jennifer had me singing along by the end of it – certainly one to watch out for on their upcoming album.
In an 18-song setlist, there was space for only 8 songs from Everything Everything’s 4 other albums. Whilst I was a little disappointed not to hear my personal favourites Get To Heaven and A Fever Dream, they did make good decisions about which songs to include, with Spring/Sun/Winter/Dread really getting the crowd bouncing! That song kickstarted the build up to the crescendo of the gig, with the band leaving for the encore after the next song.
They certainly did keep the best for the encore though, with Violent Sun followed by their biggest hit Distant Past. I was a little surprised by the lack of movement in the crowd; Everything Everything definitely have heavy dance elements to their songs, and yet the crowd was still for most of the gig! Distant Past has a great build-up to it, so I thought we may even see a mosh-pit for it, but the crowd didn’t seem to fancy it.
Having said that, final song No Reptiles did have one of the best reactions from a crowd that I’ve experienced at Rock City. The iconic lyrics ‘It’s alright to feel like a fat child in a pushchair, old enough to run’ were belted out from the Nottingham crowd, and there was even an impromptu crowd rendition as everyone made their way down the stairs to the exit.
Everything Everything are a fantastic band with an impressive range of songs, and to hear those songs live was an amazing experience. I can’t wait until the next time I see them live!
Benedict Watson
Edited by: Amrit Virdi
Featured image and in-article images and videos courtesy of Everything Everything via Facebook and YouTube.
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