Courteeners Get Into A Higher Gear In Leeds

Formed in 2006 in Manchester, Courteeners have always had a strong connection with their fans; the atmosphere in the Leeds Arena as the band arrived onstage to the tune of Oasis’ What’s the Story, Morning Glory was akin to being back in the crowd at a football match with anticipation high, voices loud with a feeling of togetherness prevailing.

The band heavily featured their new album, Pink Cactus Cafe, throughout the evening to promote it. The album marked a slight departure for the band; apart from the traditional indie rock stompers, the album title track and Solitude of the Night Bus would not sound out of place on the Radio 2 playlist, in contrast to the often macho and laddish appeal their fan base adheres to.

Wisely mixing in one new song with an old one was a wise decision. As the fans loudly sang "Yorkshire, Yorkshire", frontman and chief songwriter Liam Fray responded by confirming the band's location, much to the fans' delight.

Are You in Love with a Notion? provided an early rush of adrenaline with the uplifting chorus and thoughtful lyric resonating with the fans, though it was the newer tracks that showed the development in Fray’s songwriting with First Name Terms and Sweet Surrender proving the point, with the former sounding far edgier and rougher live than the recorded version.

The acoustic section showed the fragility of Frays’s songs as he, along with keyboardist Elina Lin, showcased Please Don’t and Bide Your Time in all their stark glory, though naturally Smith's Disco was met like meeting up with a long-lost friend.

Every band has a song that they are associated with; in the case of Courteeners, the track Not Nineteen Forever, delivered tonight in an exhilarating style, threatened to take the roof of the arena, ignited smoke flares, and created a joyful mood. Witnessing a band and their fans together in total harmony confirmed the joy of experiencing live music.

As the band did their final farewell bow, the huge LED screens on stage displayed “God Bless the Band," perfectly summarising an evening where everyone had good reason to count their blessings.