1000 Concerts: Concert: Catfish & The Bottlemen + Jamie N Commons

Catfish & The Bottlemen have had an exciting year: their debut album The Balcony was released in September of 2014, climbed to number 10 in the US charts, and it's been a whirlwind ever since.

The 4 piece Welsh band came from humble beginnings; playing at each other's houses (which also happened to be Bed and Breakfasts), and playing small gigs around town. The band was signed to Communion Records in 2013, and were the tour support for Little Comets, and later on, The Kooks.

Their first American tour was at the beginning of this year, with a second American tour in the fall. In between those tours they've played numerous festivals all over the world, and also toured Europe.

I had seen them play back in February at Mississippi Studios:

It was a great set, and they were kind enough to talk at length with fans after the show. I didn't know at the time how big they were going to become within a few months, although after seeing them live I figured it was bound to happen considering how talented they are. I'm sure their stint on The Late Show with David Letterman helped with gaining listeners and attract a wider audience

[Kathleen on The Late Show with David Letterman]

----------------------------

Anyway, the line at the Wonder Ballroom was already about 30 people long by the time I arrived at 2pm (doors weren't even until 8). Fans had been camped out since 7:30AM with camping chairs and plenty of activities to keep themselves entertained during the long, occasionally chilly, wait.

The show started at 9 with opening act Jamie N Commons entering the stage solo with a black and white Native American print poncho/cape, and acoustic guitar. The first song was called Lead Me Home and was used in an episode of "The Walking Dead", which aroused much applause from the excited audience. The set also included the single Jungle which was used in the Netflix series "Orange Is The New Black".

Each individual band member played his instrument well, but collectively it felt a little off; not quite as cohesive as it could have been. In two of the songs, band members played large, green, empty metal barrels with "Jamie N Commons" spray painted across the side in white. It felt very forced and seemed like the band was just trying to have something that made them stand out from all the other so-called "indie/alternative/folk-rock" bands that exist. It didn't add much to the songs themselves and seemed like large props to be hauling around. They had a few decent songs, but overall it felt very inauthentic, generic, a little pretentious, and sort of boring. Just not for me I guess. The rest of the crowd seemed to enjoy it.

--------------------------

At approximately 10:20 Catfish & The Bottlemen took the stage to the screams of delight from the mostly female crowd. Dressed all in black, they exuded an aura of cool without seeming like they were trying. It's easy to see why they have such an appeal: quality music, young enough to be considered "attainable" to many fans, and natural style and good looks. Plus the accents.

They played their set effortlessly (having obviously played it numerous times), but with an intensity and passion that let the audience know they really love what they do and haven't gotten bored with playing the same songs over and over for longer than a year without much new material added to their standard set.

Lead singer Ryan "Van" McCann did most of the talking throughout the night; thanking the crowd numerous times with a sincerity that was apparent.

Instead of a traditional encore, the entire band, save for Van, went off stage while he played the solo, acoustic song Hourglass which depicts the struggles of being in a relationship while constantly being away from one another. At times, Van would keep strumming and stand back from the microphone to hear the audience singing the lyrics at him in a dull roar that almost overwhelmed the vocals at times when he was singing.

They wrapped up their set with Tyrants, which is also the closing track off of The Balcony. The crowd was disappointed to see them go, and cheered until the lights came on, signifying that their hope for a second encore was dashed and it was time to leave.

All in all, the show was fantastic, and the boys really know how to give their audiences a good time. Although the set was short (only about an hour), every second was excellent, and what they lacked in set length, they more than made up for with a palpable joy for what they were doing, and genuine excitement to share their music with such a loyal and loving audience.