I have only seen Everything Everything live once before, back in 2016 opening for Foals in Amsterdam, and have never since fallen so deeply in love with a support act as I did with them. I have been looking forward to seeing if Everything Everything is still capable of casting that magic spell over an audience like they did back then. The Academy is packed, with eager fans still showing up to the venue after doors hoping to score some last-minute tickets for this highly anticipated sold-out show, even after fans are summoned for the second time this year already.
Just over a month ago, the group played an album release event at the Marble Factory and have already come back to town to give us more of their magic. The band opens with 3 songs off their latest record “Mountainhead,” and the atmosphere is good from the get-go. I am instantly transported by the melodies coming out of the speakers and briefly forget about the life and its associated problems outside those doors. For the next hour or so, it is just us in the crowd, the band on the stage, and the terrific noise coming out of the speakers, all fighting ‘this evil’ that can be life together, rather than alone.
By the time I make it to the back of the crowd and get to observe the full production the Northerners brought along, I can quickly feel my body fill with the warm, fuzzy feeling I remember so vividly from the previous time I saw Everything Everything live. The brightly colored light production paired with the hints of electronica, glitch pop, and contemporary R&B sets the mood for the dance floor to open, but the audience has not quite warmed up yet. However, the fans make sure to show their appreciation for the band with deafening applause in between songs.
Whilst being often defined as an art rock band, the complexity of their songs and absolute blend of genres, with notes of math rock, jazz, funk, and psychedelic rock on top of the aforementioned genres, as well as the layered, sociopolitically themed lyrics, set the mood for an interesting yet fun night; one that’s perfect to just let go for an hour and a half. It is clear it is a Saturday night; the longer the set goes on, the more energy there is to find in both the crowd as well as on stage.
The band started out somewhat stiff, which is to be expected at the last show of several months of non-stop touring, but by the time the synth-heavy encore comes around, they have more than made up for it: the entire floor is dancing, jumping, and singing along – with a passionate fan even dangling half his torso over the edge of the balcony, whilst the rays of pink, green, blue, and red lights shine on the many happy faces in the audience.
Jonathan Higgs, the lead vocalist, does not only have a unique voice that can deliver a powerful rapid-fire falsetto spitting out their sociopolitically tinted lyrics, I wonder how Higgs has the breath control to sing the incredibly fast-paced words of “No Reptiles” after an hour and a half of performing. The crowd is ear-piercing during the entire encore, which largely consists of hits from the band’s 2015 record “Get To Heaven”, and I walk away knowing that this has been one of the best shows I have been to in a long time.
The fact that Everything Everything can deliver a fine-tuned set of perfectly sounding songs with complex expeditious lyrics at the end of a tour, at the end of the set, for a sold-out crowd without even breaking a sweat already says everything you should know about Everything Everything live. After tonight, I sincerely hope it will not take me another 8 years before I get to see them again.
Role: Photographer, Reviewer
Qualifications: First Class BA (hons) degree in Music Business at BIMM Bristol, first year certificate (Propedeuse) in Journalism at the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht
Available for: gigs, shoots (mainly portraits) and tours!
First gig attended: technically Guus Meeuwis when I was younger (Dutch pop artist), first gig I bought a ticket for with my own money was One Direction on their Where We Are tour, but first ‘proper’ gig was Foals and Everything Everything in Amsterdam in 2016!
First shoot: Frank and Beans at The Crofters Rights early 2022, but first photo pass was Mayday Parade, Real Friends and As It Is at the Marble Factory on June 1st 2022
Dream gig: there are a couple of line-ups that I would love so it’s hard to choose, but I’d love to shoot Harry Styles one day
