Opening act The Holloways kicked off with an awesome performance and some great songs, and they weren’t a band I’d listened to much before - but I definitely will now. The Subways followed and cranked the energy up with their dynamic blend of punk and Britpop influences. The crowd were lively, and by the end of the opening acts, the anticipation for The Enemy was palpable - the City Hall was packed, and after paying for the most expensive vodka cranberry of all time, I was more than ready for them to come on stage.
With the 15th anniversary of 'We’ll Live and Die in These Towns' having just passed, it’s no surprise that they opened with a succession of tracks from their debut album. Highlights included their top ten hit ‘Away from Here’, as well as songs that didn’t necessarily have immense chart success - ‘This Song is About You’ was a firm fan favourite (the band were loving it too). It was not only extended and later encored, its chorus was chanted instead of the usual ‘one more song’ pantomime, in a much more personal dialogue with the band. ‘Technodanceaphobic’ was immediately followed by ‘40 Days and 40 Nights’; this high-energy combo had bassist Andy Hopkins jumping across the stage, and was an absolute smash with the crowd, who were bouncing and sending pints flying.
The Enemy not only encouraged the crowd’s enthusiasm, they paused to tell us how much they appreciated it. Tom Clark told NME that he had relied on alcohol pre-hiatus to deal with his nerves and the complexities of fame, but you would never have guessed that any of the band had been away or struggled on stage at all. They looked not just comfortable on stage but their performance came to them with ease, especially Liam Watts, who was confident and errorless on drums throughout the set.
My personal favourite track is ‘We’ll Live and Die in These Towns’, a song written by a Coventry band that could be about any town in the country. This really rings true for me - if you’d told me it had been written about my hometown, I’d believe you. But while the song describes a pretty grim state of affairs, it truly brought the crowd together, and its eponymous line spurs an unexpected sense of pride, for any place that came to mind: Newcastle, Coventry, or elsewhere.
This is what live music is about - unity. The Enemy’s performance was not only engaging, impressive, and nostalgic, it brought the crowd together, and successfully inspired a sense of community - the central motif of their music.
