Live Report: Snow Patrol light up 3Arena with a career-spanning spectacle

At show’s end, the Snow Patrol massive, throughout the 3Arena are on their feet, clapping their hands and singing every word of ‘Just Say Yes’, everyone joyous and elated and why wouldn’t they be? Treated as we were to a rollercoaster ride of the band’s remarkable back catalogue. From the off, the crowd are in fine voice, ringing out the chorus of curtain raiser ‘Take Back The City’. Throughout, the lighting show is spectacular, a portal to futuristic cityscapes, Wipeout era video game graphics and wonderful variations on the theme of newest record and reason for this tour – The Forest Is The Path.

Snow Patrol at 3Arena on February 25th, 2025. Copyright Jason Doherty/ hotpress.com

Several cuts from it are spliced throughout the show, they land well, with more than a few of the audience belting out the words to mammoth power ballad ‘All’ and lead single ‘The Beginning’. We trek all the way back to the band’s breakout album, Final Straw, hard to believe that it is creeping up on a quarter of a century since it pretty much took over the planet. I for one, wouldn’t mind going even further back, to the mighty ‘Ask Me How I Am’ from splendid sophomore album When It’s All Over We Still Have to Clear Up or ‘Little Hide’ off 1998 debut Songs for Polarbears, aye Snow Patrol have been good a long time.

Snow Patrol at 3Arena on February 25th, 2025. Copyright Jason Doherty/ hotpress.com

Third Final Straw single ‘Chocolate’ is proof in the pudding stuff, lead guitarist Nathan Connolly guiding us in with that mighty buzz-cut riff, Gary Lightbody intoning that fine line – “This is the straw, final straw in the roof of my mouth…”, and into the glam-rock staccato of ‘Called Out In The Dark’ they plunge, Johnny McDaid’s keys doused in red and blue, the laser show picking out gleeful faces in the delirious 3Arena mob.

Snow Patrol at 3Arena on February 25th, 2025. Copyright Jason Doherty/ hotpress.com

This is the first tour without long-term SP rhythm section Jonny Quinn and Paul Wilson, which can’t be easy, however more than capable bassist Ben Epstein and blithesome drummer Ash Soan (a man in possession of a glittering CV) are more than a pair of ample substitutes.

They whale into the wonderfully vampiric ‘Crack the Shutters’. while Martha Wainwright makes a virtual appearance on ‘Set the Fire to the Third Bar’, the magnificent single off Eyes Open, a record which confirmed Snow Patrol's world dominance. ‘Run’ is marvellous, Lightbody good-naturedly duffing a line, only adds to its beauty and its maximum lift-off has thousands of phones lighting the dark arena, all the way to the eaves and the crowd rather wonderfully takes the song, singing angelically, delighted with themselves, which is simply mighty.

Snow Patrol at 3Arena on February 25th, 2025. Copyright Jason Doherty/ hotpress.com

Before ‘The Beginning’, another newbie, a gauze-like fabric cascades across the stage and an acid house infused portal twirls into infinity in front of and behind the band, it’s some trick, worthy of Ummagumma-era Pink Floyd, Gary intoning “There is nothing for me in these past lives there is only what I wasn’t yet.” Virtual trees grow and leaves bluster around McDaid’s perennial piano before the band embark on an intense math rock style wig out amidst a tornado of leaves, before confetti douses the audience, which is all a stellar set up.

Snow Patrol at 3Arena on February 25th, 2025. Copyright Jason Doherty/ hotpress.com

The simple riff that opens ‘Open Your Eyes’ causes an eruption, the visuals marvellously triangulate the stage in a Kraftwerkian sleight of hand, when Gary drops to a whisper, you can hear fans calling out to him from the darkness, and he drops to his knees in a rock and roll supplication. It’s counterpoint ‘Shut Your Eyes’ contains a glorious call and response which the crowd muscle in on. And do so again when the band wrap on ‘Chasing Cars’, every hand in the air in a disco-like delirium.

They return with fresh track ‘But I’ll Keep Trying’ and then ‘Just Say Yes’ which is where we came in…

Check out the full gallery from the concert here. Photography by Jason Doherty.