Celebrating their 25th anniversary by touring their Reworked album, a collection of their greatest hits reimagined and stripped back, Northern Irish alt-rock band Snow Patrol brought their show to Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall. Surprisingly their first show in Nottingham since before their breakthrough album Final Straw in 2003, it was a spectacle to remember.
Different from their typical concerts, they served up a show in every sense of the word, suiting the seated hall with a theatre style two part-show and even having an interval inbetween. An unusual move for sure, but it was a testament to the band’s powers that they pulled it off effortlessly, creating a special evening for those lucky enough to be there.
"The journey they took the audience on proves why Snow Patrol are a household name selling out arenas to this day, and boast so much more than just Chasing Cars."
The first part took a relaxed and theatrical feeling, with frontman Gary Lightbody’s quirky song introductions, as much as he apologised for them, bringing needed comic relief with effortless charm. Joined throughout by a variety of backing musicians, the first half gave orchestral style to hits such as You’re All I Have and Take Back the City, but also quirkier combinations, with An Olive Grove Facing the Sea performed by just Gary on guitar and a backing musician on the trumpet. Even the keenest fans will have taken a while to figure out which song was being played due to their reworked nature, adding to the beauty of it.
Following on from the first half, the interval welcomed back in the band to deliver a more upbeat second half with ease, and slowly but surely, bring out all of the classics. Moving away from the theatrical section, during which the audience sat and admired, the opening riff of Chocolate changed everything, bringing the stalls to their feet straight away and creating the antithesis of the energy in the room pre-interval.
A moving rendition of Run was sung back to the band by everyone in the house, bringing a reminder that despite Leona Lewis’ cover, it’s most certainly Snow Patrol’s song. Similarly, soon followed with the most played song on UK radio this century, Chasing Cars, majestically performed with the crowd singing along to every word.
While Snow Patrol are usually thought of as ‘that band who did Chasing Cars’, their performance showed they’re so much more of that. A band capable of capturing every emotion and creating a show greater than the sum of its parts, the journey they took the audience on proves why Snow Patrol are a household name selling out arenas to this day, and boast so much more than just Chasing Cars.
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