The return of Feeder to London was everything it should have been and more. Big, bold, brave, theatrical, nostalgic, monumental; it was fucking epic. Feeder frontmen Grant Nicholas and Taka Hirose treated a capacity crowd at London’s famed Roundhouse to a night filled with stellar performances backed by some of the best songwriting of the past two decades. It was a bombastic 90-minute journey that left the crowd pinching each other after the last song in an effort to convince themselves that was they just saw was real.
Touring in support of their critically acclaimed brilliant new record All Bright Electric, it’s hard to believe that these Welsh natives have been driving the scene forward since 1992. With each record, the band continues to evolve both sonically and lyrically with a slight pivot in direction on each. It’s just enough to keep their core sound while comfortably moving into new territory. All Bright Electric is clearly the band’s most forward thinking album.
Standout tracks from the latest are of course the lead single “Universe of Life,” which is quite remarkable. For the first time in their colorful twenty-five year career, these guys have finally managed to combine each element that makes them unique and distil it down to arguably their finest moment on record. The follow-up single “Eskimo” sees Feeder going a bit tribal and atmospheric which works beautifully as it sets up a wall-of-sound chorus that would make Phil Spector proud.
But back to the show. What can I say about seeing this band live that hasn’t been said before? Not much so I’ll let the pictures tell the story beyond the fact that the crowd was absolutely losing their minds and that Feeder clearly does not tour enough here in the UK.
While this is certainly one of the best shows I’ve seen all year (I know I say that a lot but I see a lot of great shows), the only thing that could have made it better is if they would have added my all time favorite Feeder song “Itsumu,” and a little hidden gem on the new record called “Eyes to the Sky.” You can always gauge the quality of an album by listening to the last song first. In this case, it’s one of the more exceptional songs on the record and a proper way to end album number nine.
Were you at the show at the Roundhouse? What did you think of the performance and the setlist choice? Join the conversation in the comment section below.
Check out hi-res shots in the gallery here.
