Live Report: The Charlatans rouse fans at Cork City Hall gig with special guests Pillow Queens

Music
31 Oct 23

The Charlatans at Guinness Cork Jazz Festival. Copyright Trevor McGrath.

Cork City Hall played host to rockers The Charlatans and The Pillow Queens Saturday the 27th of October.

Mancunian band the Charlatans, plus special guests Dubliner Pillow Queens, played a back to back intergenerational rock concert, suiting tastes from 90s fans to 2020s rockers.

Being an opening act is a tough gig, and possibly all the tougher the more established and beloved the headliner is, and Pillow Queens had no mean feat ahead of them in Cork City Hall on Friday the 27th of October.

'We're really delighted to open for The Charlatans', lead vocalist Pamela Connelly says. 'Tim (Burgess lead singer of The Charlatans) used to play us on his Twitter Lives during Covid, and it was one of the first times people ever really heard us'.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Burgess, confronted with the calamity of cancelled tours and shrinking revenue for the music industry, launched Tim’s Twitter Listening Party –where musicians and fans sat down with a favourite record together and shared their thoughts and memories on social media.

This was the origin story of what might be considered as a surprising line-up to some, but served as a contrasting yet harmonious intergenerational rock n'roll gig.

Debuting some new material, The Pillow Queens got city hall fans cheering and dancing. 'How Do I Look' served as a crowd filler with fans shuffling in to get closer to the barrier and hear the dirty bass lines, a healthy dose of reverb, and catchy guitar hooks.

'Rat's' was the anthemic, sing-along song of the night, possibly not just The Pillow Queen's set. Audience members could be heard enthusiastically screeching 'I'm not a rat, if you're not a rat' with the vitality and vigour of people wanted to let loose on a Friday night.

The Dublin band made the bold choice to end their set on the Lee with their song 'Liffey', however, the Corkonians rockers were gracious enough to dance to it anyway.

After a brief interval, the headliner act of the night, Manchester's The Charlatan's stormed the stage, and immediately roused fans playing 'With No Shoes', diving into their signature heavy guitar and distorted sound.

The charismatic frontman Tim Burgess reminded viewers of something akin to Jez from Peep Show- with his Warhol-esque hair, vaping, mobile phone in hand, ready to record the cheering crowd at a moment's notice.

The Charlatans at Guinness Cork Jazz Festival. Copyright Trevor McGrath.

However, Burgess' energy was matched by that of the audience, where his outlandish dancing and jumping could be seen across the floor.

Fans enjoyed a concert which heavily featured favourite tracks from the Charlatan's 1997 album 'Tellin' Stories' such as 'North Country Boy', 'One to Another', and closing on 'How High'.

The Charlatans biggest hit 'The Only One I Know',was played late into the set and was received with huge joyous uproar. By this stage, Burgess' twirling and dancing and phone recording were established and beloved parts of the gig.

Closing the set, was the 'Some Friendly' album closer 'Sproston Green', serving as a full stop to an inter-generational rock n'roll gig.

From the 90s to the 2010s rock fans were delighted by two indie rock outfits on Friday night.