NOTHING BUT THIEVES | LIVE REVIEW
The Globe, Cardiff, Tues 23 May
Southend five-piece Nothing But Thieves returned to Cardiff for the first time since 2015 to kick off their seven-date 2017 UK tour – completely selling out The Globe in the process. With the release of their new album Broken Machine this September, it seems this is a perfectly-planned effort to get the new material out to the fans before festival season kicks off.
I’ve seen them live three times before – twice in Cardiff, once at Glastonbury – and any band that can pack out, and rock out, a tent at 10am on Saturday at Glasto definitely have something extraordinary. Billed for 9.30pm, NBT took to the stage almost exactly to the second with a palpable sense of eagerness. Opening with anthem Ban All The Music, the fans responded en masse with a mirroring sense of excitement.
Aware that the hype from their first, self-titled album has not yet died down, they cautiously ask the crowd if we minded them playing some tracks from its upcoming successor. Hanging and Design proved not to disappoint: the new material feels more mature, slightly heavier whilst not straying too far from the main. Conor Mason’s spinetingling falsetto is utilised more, and the sound as a whole has an early 00s indie-rock tinge. Switching from old to new in every succession hereafter, it all glides seamlessly together; Mason sings the first chorus of 2015 hit Emergency a capella, the crowd utterly still and silent. You have to remind yourself to take notice of the other four musicians onstage.
It’s amazing the difference 17 months can make: I remember the same band playing to a tame audience in Cardiff’s Clwb Ifor Bach. Now they are playing a sold-out Globe to a crowd who know each song word for word and are dripping in sweat, their repartee at that level where Mason can hold back and let the crowd sing most of If I Get High.
The change and experience is also seen in the band, and not just Mason’s newly bleached locks: they have a new air of confidence and charisma. Since the start of 2016 NBT have travelled the world, making a name for themselves in America appearing on shows such as Jimmy Kimmel – but they still have a sense of normality about them.
The gig starts drawing to a close with the riff-heavy, bass-laden Excuse Me, during which Mason takes a step back and lets the other four boys have a jam. Sometimes this part of the show can feel self-indulgent, but not in this case. Their talent is beyond their years and they make indie rock look sexy again.
Nothing But Thieves finish their set with new single Amsterdam – a track which undeniably sticks to the NBT sound, complete with a chorus which fills you with a sense of urgency and excitement. Speaking with guitarist Dom Craik after the gig, it seems the boys are still a bit stunned by the success of the last two years; hinting that 2018 will be a big year festival wise for the band, it sounds like things are only going to get bigger and better.
words DENIECE CUSACK
