Old Market Assembly, 16th April
At @outertownbristol’s riotous night-time headline slot, Courting take to the stage with the swagger of celebrity and the shotgun of youth. This gig is special; it’s a milestone set going off in real time.
Sean Thomas, the band’s drummer, is masked by a curtain of floppy dark hair as he rolls his sticks with a showcase veteran’s ease. Connor McCann keeps the pace as the set becomes a collision with the crowd. Josh Cope, the lead guitarist, is dressed down in pearls and black sunglasses; he has all the fixings of a rock persona on the make.
The frontman, Sean Murphy O’Neill, is the real deal; he’s manning a party with an electric twist. Using a microphone’s glitched-out voice to match his band’s hyper-pop tendencies, he brings the crowd to attention like static.
Unreleased material and greatest hits bookend the setlist, and it feels essential and home-grown. Deep cuts from the band’s discography like ‘Slow Burner’ start moshes strong enough to knock a kid out.
‘Loaded’, ‘Tennis’, and ‘Famous’ play in quick succession until they reach their grand crescendo: Murphy O’Neill takes his cowbell into the crowd and plays the leader as crop circle moshes wax and wane around him. The crowd ranges from adult sophisticates to kids with something to get off their chest, but they all love it all the same.
Despite the gig’s sweaty physicality, though, the band’s deep-set intelligence shines like limelight. They wax lyrical about technology and celebrity culture with the same breath they use to host a party that has no ending in sight. They play long
into the night, well after curfew. When you’ve got a crowd as taken in as this one, though, why turn on the house lights? Why turn the present to the past when there’s a moment as sweet as this?
@katejeffrie
@nevedawsonphotos
Kate Jeffrie @katejeffrie
Role: Lead Writer / Interviewer
I review gigs, and interview bands and musicians.
Available For: Gig Reviews, band interviews
Qualification: I study English Literature at the University of Bristol.
First attended gig: The first gig I remember going to see was Lewis Watson when I was 13, at a pub a few towns over from where I lived. My friends and I all loved him, and I remember how shocked I was that someone I had on this pedestal could be stood on a stage just a few feet away, drinking a beer and playing guitar!
First gig reviewed: The first gig I ever reviewed was Palace at the O2 Academy Bristol. As a band I wasn’t particularly well acquainted with, it was a testament to how live music can bowl someone over, even when it’s coming from strangers.
Dream gig: My dad saw The Smiths on their first tour, and since they’re my favourite band, I think seeing them in an intimate venue would be a dream
@nevedawsonphotos @_nevedawson
My current role for TBGG is as a Reviewer, Interviewer and Photographer, which I do in my spare time when I'm not studying English Literature and History at the University of Bristol.
I'm available for reviews, previews, interviews and shoots through the company. Alongside TBGG I also write for The So Young, Groupie and Rodeo Magazines, with an aspiration to enter magazine and newspaper journalism focusing on culture and the arts.
What was your first Gig?
The first gig I remember seeing (when I wasn’t dragged around by my metal-head father) was The Killers live in my hometown of Birmingham in 2016. Brandon Flowers’s iridescent cowboy suit still blinds me to this day and echoes glamorous indie rock n’ roll for years to come.
What's your dream Gig?
I would have to say my dream gig would be seeing Hendrix’s star-spangled banner live at Woodstock ’69. Call me cliché but I was born in the wrong generation.