With a woman being stretchered off a neck brace, a “Belter” of a support act, mosh pit mayhem and the England goalkeeper; The Courteeners had a night to remember at Rock City.
At half 11 on November the 19th, I slowly crawled out of Rock City, covered in blood, sweat and beer; having bared witness to an evening of pure carnage and emotional turmoil. A pure evening of excellence almost beset by tragedy.
Anticipation built and built as the Rock City crowd stood patiently for the late emergence of The Courteeners. Gerry Cinnamon had blown the roof off in support; who was perhaps the most captivating support act I have seen so far; charging the already electric crowd to palpable levels.
Chants of “Liam, Liam, Liam” grew as cans of beer began to fly through the air, with one casually giving me a knock to the head for good measure.
Liam Fray emerges from the shadows, tearing straight into “Are You In Love With A Notion?” immediately “Cavorting” the sold-out crowd into a non-stop frenzy, all the way through to their new instant classic track, “Better Man.” Suddenly the gig is halted.
Unfortunately, a young woman had to be stretchered out, as the show is put on a 25-minute hiatus.
At this point, the crowd noticed a newfound national hero amongst them, Everton and England number one, Jordan Pickford. The Goalie keeps the crowd occupied with England chants for the remaining break as the young woman is rushed out of the venue by Paramedics.
Liam graciously thanks the paramedics, crowd and venue staff. But the show must go on as Liam eases us back in with the calm rifts of Summer.
The crowd quickly resumed their state of chaos, and lost control, somewhat ironically In the middle of “lose control”.
Liam stands alone on stage, hitting us with a duo of tearjerkers, including his latest melancholy infused heartbreaker “Hanging off the cloud”. We are also treated to a rendition of “Disco” by the Smiths, as per the crowd request of a “big mouth” in the crowd – I see what you did there Liam.
We are then hit by a quadruple encore consisting of “Heavy Jacket” and “Modern Love”. The Penultimate song of the evening was of course “Not Nineteen Forever,” dedicated to none other than Jordan Pickford. Being engulfed by the crowd at the centre of the mosh pit as the chorus hits made me think for a split second that I may be nineteen forever.
The evening culminates with the ultimate lad-rock anthem “What Took You So Long?” for which the crowd naturally responds with flying beer and mosh pits.
The Courteeners are simply one of the defining staples of post-brit-pop British Rock and Roll scene; they were expected to blow the roof off Rock City and they delivered, even in the face of a potential catastrophe.
But most importantly, Jordan Pickford had a great time.
By Adam Ridgley