Another fine show from the Texan folk-rockers, although tour fatigue is obviously starting to set in. Never quite hitting the heady heights of brilliance of their Luminaire and Scala sets, it began in an unusually pedestrian manner for a band who’ve always impressed with their passion and drive (the exceptions being gangly frontman Will Sheff, who clearly loves being a rock star and perpetually-happy drummer Travis Nelson, the most cheerful man in indie.) A curiously thin sound mix didn’t bring the best out of them either, the density and texture of their sound being key to their appeal and as a result, the atmosphere lacked the reverence of previous shows. But you can always trust OR to ultimately deliver the goods, and the knockout run of Lost Coastlines, Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe and Unless It’s Kicks kicked things up a gear or ten, elevating the energy levels much closer to what I’d expect from such a top-tier live act. Hope they rest up and rejuvenate themselves soon though- no-one wants to see them burn themselves out. As for the supports- Stars and Sons sounded like a hybrid of Air Traffic/The Hoosiers and The Hold Steady, thus evoking both curiosity and acute bemusement and the Dodo’s were much as they were last time- a potentially awesome band hamstrung by their inability to edit their songs.(Photo: Pfirsich Maracuja (Flickr))
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