“It’s nice to be able to get the tram to work” Elbow front man Guy Garvey beams as a heroes welcome echoes around a sold out MEN arena.
Opening their set with the first track off the new album ‘Build A Rocket Boys!’, the Elbow boys were joined on stage by part of the Halle Orchestra who helped create a huge sound for The Birds. The Bones of You was followed by the brilliant Lippy Kids, which, Garvey explained, was written after a minor run in with some local youths at the end of his road. For a fella that looks like he (and probably does) canes the ale and fags, his voice is note perfect.
For the song With Love, Garvey requested some backing vocal assistance from the 11,000 strong crowd made up of a range of ages, which is a credit to the band and what they have created. Neat Little Rows, The Night Will Always Win and Great Expectations were followed by the fans favourite Grounds For Divorce.
The stage was set up complete with catwalk into the middle of the arena which led to a bit of a Take That moment with all members of the band playing on the tiny stage amongst the crowd. The set was finished with their next scheduled single release ‘Open Arms’ complete with Halle Youth Choir who had a genuine look of pride on their faces.
It didn’t take long for the shouts to bring the Elbow boys back out to treat us to three more beauties. Complete with a trumpet each, they tore into Starlings, which ended with a comedy trumpet effort by Garvey. They followed that with Station Approach before finishing the night off with One Day Like This which had everyone of the MEN Arena crowd on their feet.
5/5
Set List
- The Birds
- The Bones Of You
- Lippy Kids
- Mirrorball
- With Love
- Neat Little Rows
- The Night Will Always Win
- Great Expectations
- Grounds For Divorce
- The Loneliness Of A Tower Crane Driver
- Puncture Repair
- Some Riot
- Weather To Fly
- Open Arms
- Starlings
- Station Approach
- One Day Like This
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