Catfish and the Bottlemen are an amazingly underrated band. With their second album 'The Ride' lingering in the distance, I can guess these boys have so much more to give past our expectations.
I finally managed to catch them at the Doncaster Dome, after weeks of trying to track down tickets for their sold out tour. I must say it wasn't the most glamorous venue I've ever been to; I mean if you're needing a swimming baths, kids soft play, ice skating rink and music venue all in one, then this is perfect for you. But being greeted by the smell of chlorine isn't exactly how I start every gig off. Nevertheless, the Bottlemen have played many unique venues on their tour- certainly many away from the mainstream cities and venues that these types of bands would typically play. Yet I believe this says a lot about the band themselves- they are unique and they are passionate about their fans, even those in smaller cities would not usually catch a glimpse of bigger musicians such as these; which is of course what led them to sell out every single one of their dates.
The boys started their show with one of their best singles 'Homesick', along with a lot of jumping around and passion from lead singer 'Van' McCann. You can see his humbleness to play in front of such a lively, jam-packed crowd, whom throughout the show you can regularly hear chant 'YORKSHIRE' (which is expected at any gig held in the county of Yorkshire).
One thing I was wary about, with the gig being so close to their album release date, was being bombarded with lots of new, unknown songs. I love to sing and dance and jump around at gigs, which is a little more tricky when you haven't a clue about the music. Luckily enough, the Bottlemen played near enough their entire set from their debut album 'The Balcony'- one of my absolute favourite albums from 2014, including 26, Cocoon, Fallout and eventually finishing on an extended version of Tyrants. Nevertheless we were fortunate enough to hear a couple of their new tracks to get us excited for that ever close release date. It's obvious to anyone that this band is incredibly passionate and grateful to their fans; Van McCann even stopped the set at one stage to tell his fans to essentially fuck the bouncers and crowd surf to the front, proclaiming "it's your gig not theirs".
My motto is, if you leave a gig very hot and sweaty then you had a good time. And this was definitely a night to remember. Next stop for the Bottlemen boys is an album release and then a hell of a lot of festival spots this summer. So if you get chance to catch them playing near you, make sure you do!
'The Ride' is out in the UK on May 27.
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