Tonight Alive – York Fibbers – 10/11/18
Tonight Alive burst back onto the scene earlier this year with a few noticeable changes. The main being the loss of guitarist Whakaio from the line up, and the second being a new album which brought something a little more spiritual and expressive to the table. When we caught them return to the UK for the first time back in March at Leeds Stylus, we were really taken by the energy the four piece brought to the show. There was a real spark to their performance and a maturity to their set that pushed it above their past shows, which left us wanting more.
Sure enough more is what we got. A return of Tonight Alive (9) in the fall with special acoustic shows and intimate venues to light up with their electric performances. This evening is the Aussie quartet make their first ever visit to York for one of their fully plugged ‘Underworld’ shows on the tour.
It may not be fully sold out but Fibbers is packed out with little room left around the intimate venue, as Tonight Alive take to the tiny stage in front of the excitable crowd to the sound of ‘The Other’. The chorus kicks in and green lights beam out from the stage darting through the venue, something you don’t see much in Fibbers that’s for sure! But as ever Tonight Alive have come fully kitted with their lighting rigs, top notch sound and plenty of character flowing throughout them. The quick tempo opener is the perfect way to get the show underway with the crowd and band bouncing their way through the track taken from their most recent album ‘Underworld’.
The show explodes through the best of Tonight Alive’s back catalogue with plenty from the recent ‘Underworld’ right back through to their 2011’s ‘All Shapes & Disguises’. The big guns from the recent album ‘Crack My Heart’ & ‘Disappear’ both bring the best out of the band and crowd likewise.
The emotional ‘Amelia’ still gives us a frog in our throat every time we hear it live as Jenna sings her heart out for her past friend, before we’re delighted to find personal favourite and golden oldie ‘Wasting Away’ make the set list. As you imagine, it did not disappoint!
Jenna can’t keep away from the crowd as she jumps (steps) down to the barrier for high fives and hugs all around keeping the crowd on their toes singing along throughout the show. The set closes with a powerful performance of ‘Lonely Girl’ & ‘The Edge’, before Jenna encourages us all to loose our shit for the final song ‘Temple’. It’s riff vibrates through us and we can’t help but bounce along, as Jenna climbs up onto the crowd hanging from the roof bars of the little venue to give it everything she’s got.
It’s another excellent show from Tonight Alive which warrants a huge applause from the York crowd as they leave the stage. Sometimes the smaller shows are just that bit more special and exciting, and this certainly backed up that theory.
Check out the live photos from Tonight Alive‘s York show here!
(PLEASE DO NOT CROP OR EDIT PHOTOS)
Photo Credit: © Danny Peart Photography 2018
