Gemma Cockrell
Originally scheduled for 4th May 2021 at Rescue Rooms, following a rescheduling and venue upgrade The Lathums finally made it to Nottingham on 2nd October 2021 for a gig at Rock City. Gemma Cockrell was lucky enough to be there, and she provides her thoughts.
This gig had been a long time coming for me. I originally booked my ticket in July 2020, just as lockdown one restrictions began to lift. So, over a year later, I was delighted to finally catch The Lathums live.
The shift from Rescue Rooms to the larger venue of Rock City demonstrated just how much The Lathums have grown in such a short time, and they had plenty of new music to play, having released both their ‘Ghosts’ EP and their debut album ‘How Beautiful Life Can Be’ in the time since they last toured.
The setlist focused mostly on the tracks from the album, which made sense with it being their most recent release. However, the album also features re-recorded versions of some of the band’s older songs, giving them the opportunity to play these live as more matured and rounded versions of themselves.
this was a very intimate and special moment
They kicked off the set with fan favourite Fight On, building the energy of the crowd before launching into some of their newer material, including I’ll Get By and Oh My Love. They then returned to their classics with The Great Escape, undeniably their most well-known track, and one that I predict they will be playing for the rest of their careers.
Midway through the performance, the rest of the band left the stage to allow frontman Alex Moore to have an intimate moment with the crowd. Alone with his acoustic guitar, he performed some of The Lathums’ softer tracks, including the album’s title track How Beautiful Life Can Be and All My Life from the ‘Ghosts’ EP. For a vocalist who is of a more reserved demeanour, who usually seems rather shy of the limelight, this was a very intimate and special moment. He comes into his own when performing, clearly at his most comfortable when stood behind the microphone.
it’s safe to say that the band were revelling in the glory
The fact that The Lathums had just found out that they had beaten Drake to this week’s official UK number one album made this gig even more special. The crowd’s relentless, repeated chanting of “UK number one” filled Rock City in every moment between songs, and it’s safe to say that the band were revelling in the glory. They even encouraged one more final chant after the encore, as they danced uncontrollably around the stage before taking their well-deserved final bows.
Speaking of the encore, they opted to play Artificial Screens as the closing song of the gig, another track that was remastered for ‘How Beautiful Life Can Be’. The track’s monumentous instrumental section was an explosion of raw guitars and clashing drums that seemed never-ending, closing the set on a euphoric high. The Lathums had the crowd mesmerised, and it was clear that they had been waiting a long time to play to a crowd of this size again. Next time they tour, it seems inevitable that they will be playing to crowds of even greater sizes.
Gemma Cockrell
Featured image courtesy of Amrit Virdi. Permission to use granted to Impact. No changes were made to this image.
In-article images courtesy of @thelathums via @instagram.com. No changes were made to these images.
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