By Meliza Sestito
Photography: Matt Atherton
“We’ve been Nothing But Thieves and we’ll be back next year Manchester!”
Frontman Conor Mason beams with pride as the crowd roars in appreciation, ‘Sorry’ has just ended and the five-piece from Southend walk off the stage.
Credit: Matt Atherton
A chant of “ten more songs” accompanied with stomping feet gathers traction around the venue, before the band plays ‘Particles’ and ‘Amsterdam’ in a well received encore. A huge 19 song setlist featuring all the classics from the band’s two studio albums plus a cover of ‘Free Fallin’ by Tom Perry and the crowd still wanted more. If that doesn’t show you how much they are loved by so many, I don’t know what will.
After a lively warm up from Blackpool band Darlia and the charismatic Canadian five-piece July Talk, the lights dim and the atmosphere shifts completely. The excitement buzzes in the air and the crowd in the viewing gallery leap to their feet.
Credit: Matt Atherton
Song after song the band, with a shape-shifting vocal range from Conor, leaves you wanting more. From the deeper tones in ‘Hell, Yeah’ to the mind-blowing falsetto in ‘Trip Switch’, the change in pitch is magnificently effortless for him. It hasn’t always been plain sailing for the frontman, back in 2016 the band had to cancel shows as the operatic rock fusion took its toll on the classically trained singer’s voice.
At one point the singer leaves the stage to have a break as he explains: “We write songs that are really fucking hard to play because we’re dumb,” and guitarists Joe Langridge-Brown and Dominic Craik along with bassist Phil Blake and drummer James Price take over with a heavy, bass filled, electric interlude as mosh pits break out in the crowd below.
Credit: Matt Atherton
There’s a certain beauty in the refreshing vulnerability of songs such as ‘Soda’, as Conor sings about not wanting to be himself and questioning whether he’s being paranoid. This comes as unsurprising as he has regularly talked about his own mental health and how at one point he was considering leaving the band. You can read his candid letter here.
With their songs being featured on video games such as FIFA, and having played alongside notorious headliners such as Muse at huge festivals like Reading and Leeds, NBT have quickly gathered a devout age inclusive fan base. Their new album, Broken Machines, having peaked at number 2 on the UK charts and the sold-out show proves this. With sultry dance inducing tracks and Muse/Radiohead inspired vibes, this band is in a league of its own, and it really feels like this is a new side to the rock genre.
Catch Nothing But Thieves on the rest of their UK tour which runs until 18/11/17 before they move onto their European leg.
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