The atmosphere is buzzing in the Button Factory. The heaving crowd around me is made up of lucky SP fans who nabbed their tics through Meteor mobile, and are clearly very excited about seeing Gary Lightbody & Co. in such intimate surroundings.
MC for the night – the inimitable Stuart Clark of Hot Press gets things going, welcoming us and introducing the band to the stage. The Bangor boys kick their set off with new track ‘Called Out In The Dark’ , from forthcoming album Fallen Empires, but for the most part, it’s the big hits from yesteryear that get an airing tonight. That ol’ tear-jerker ‘Run’ still sounds as heartbreakingly lovely as it did back in ‘04, while ‘Chasing Cars’ and ‘Just Say Yes’ go down a treat. Maria Doyle-Kennedy takes to the stage for ‘Set The Fire To The Third Bar’, the band’s 2006 collaboration with Martha Wainwright, and does a stellar job on vocals. Throughout, a relaxed Gary interacts with the crowd (the ladies love him), and when the first part of the set is finished, MC Clark returns for a Q&A with the band. Topics covered range from the time Gary fell off the stage during an Olympia show back in the day (he may have had an ale or two), to Leona Lewis’ cover version of ‘Run’ (Gaz doesn’t watch X-Factor). Questions finished, the band see out the night with a few more songs, after which keyboardist Tom Simpson takes to the decks for a DJ set.
A fantastic night.