THIS WAS absolutely one for the fans.
Last night, Snow Patrol took to the iconic Royal Albert Hall in London to treat lifelong fans to an utterly unique show as part of their Reworked tour.
And for a crowd of 5,000 people it was an incredibly intimate event-- in fact, the atmosphere in the first half of the set was intimate to the point where it felt almost intrusive to sing along, with most of the crowd content to sit and listen intently to the band's famously beautiful lyrics.
The new album re-invents some of their most famous songs, and the Northern Irish five-piece were joined onstage by an orchestra to assist with the transformation to the tracks.
The Royal Albert Hall was the perfect setting for a show like this, with the breathtaking Colosseum-like architecture providing an incredible result when thousand of phone lights lit up the iconic arena for What If This Is All The Love You Ever Get and Run.
But this set wouldn't have been for everyone-- if you knew the band only through their famous singles, you would have been slightly confused and possibly a bit put out by the reimagined versions-- as singer Gary Lightbody jokingly warned the audience beforehand.
With most of the songs performed as slow, calm and dream-like ballads, parts of the set would have been in danger of becoming underwhelming to some if not for the palpably joyous atmosphere, surprise duets (Zoe Mead of Wyldest and musician James Bay) and brilliant camaraderie from the band between songs. Lightbody spoke candidly to people in the crowd, responding to (loving) hecklers and telling anecdotes, with the heartwarming story of his Protestant grandmother's friendship with a Catholic girl before breaking into I Think of Home being one particular highlight.
I don’t know what to say about last night really other than WOW! Royal Albert Hall is the most extraordinary music venue on planet Earth and it was a privilege to play it again. Last night was our favourite time playing it. Thank you to everyone that was there.📷@bradleyquinn01 pic.twitter.com/2tllEUu66E
— Snow Patrol (@snowpatrol) November 21, 2019
The short interval between the first and second half was a nice touch, and really added to the intimate atmosphere. As the band walked on stage for the second time, the reaction from the audience was less 'screaming, adoring fans' and more 'close friends reunited', and that atmosphere prevailed for the rest of the show.
Snow Patrol have made a brave move in re-imagining some of their most famous and cherished songs, and while this is applauded by many, if not most, of their fans, they still played it safe on songs like Run, which started off in the electronic voice associated with the Reworked version before switching to the globally recognised original-- and to say the crowd's reaction was appreciative would be the ultimate understatement.
The band continue on their Reworked tour with a show at the Regent Theatre in Ipswich tonight, but will be making a return to The Royal Albert Hall on December 5th.
