Fresh off the back of releasing their latest offering- a six song mixtape titled Spaceships, Easy Life performed to a jubilant Riverside crowd on Sunday evening. Their late arrival on stage, a result of some technical difficulties, something that started to plague Hit the North as a whole as the day wore on, did little to hamper the excitement amongst the crowd for the five piece’s biggest Newcastle show yet. As the evening set in and the acts got bigger, it was Easy Life who stole the spotlight amongst the headliners of the day.
Professing that they were late on as a result of wanting to make sure every aspect of their performance could be played live for the waiting crowd, front man Murray Matravers endears himself and the band to the crowd further. Striking a perfect balance between communicating with the crowd and getting through as many tracks as possible, it’s the humbleness of Murray that really shines through between songs. The band seem genuinely surprised and delighted at the extent to which the crowd already sing back their songs, both new track ‘Afters’ and ‘Wet Weekend’ being met with great enthusiasm.
A performance reflective of their outstanding studio offerings thus far.
Penultimate track ‘Pockets’, a fan favourite, partially a result of its selection on the latest instalment of FIFA, was greeted with perhaps the biggest reception of the evening before ‘Nightmares’ closed out the set on a major high.
The multi-talented instrumentalists produced a performance reflective of their outstanding studio offerings thus far, utilising everything from drums to the saxophone. It always becomes easier for the crowd to enjoy themselves when the band onstage look like they’re having just as much fun playing. It was this that made their too short a set such a memorable occasion, they had fun on stage together whilst interacting with the crowd brilliantly, Murray making one fans day by grabbing his phone mid video and singing directly into his camera.
They return to play their own headline show at Riverside in the autumn and their deserved growing popularity will likely see an even more euphoric crowd (and probably a sold-out one at that) greet them on their return. For the half an hour they played, life did seem that bit easier.
