The Charlatans are in the mist of their November/December UK ‘Forever: The Singles’ tour. Last night they came back to Birmingham, the place where it all began. Support - The Longcut
 | | Photo by Stephanie McCarthy |
Manchester bands are notoriously good, so I was expecting good things from The Longcut. They didn't disappoint. Even though I hadn't heard much of them before and wasn't too enthusiastic about their name, they performed a tight set and their sound was quite different from a lot of Indie bands around the moment. If you like more experimental music I recommend checking them out. They were the perfect support act, giving just enough energy to warm the crowd up but didn't take the thunder from the headline act, The Charlatans. The Charlatans The atmosphere was set and a buzz started building while we waited for the Charlatans. The Academy was heaving with people and body heat when the black screen dropped to reveal the Charlatans' set. The crowd roared with excitement as the band members made their way onto the stage.
 | | Photo by Stephanie McCarthy |
Launching into the intro of Forever it quickly became clear it was going to be a good night. And then Tim Burgess joined his band members on stage and things got even better. It is almost impossible to describe how amazing Tim's voice is live. If I didn't know any better I'd swear he was miming. His presence was awe inspiring. It was the perfect way to start the show, and 'Forever' summed up the whole experience, as I wanted the gig to go on and on. Only gets better The set only got better as Tim and the boys belted out classics including Blackened Blue Eyes, Love Is the Key, Weirdo and My Beautiful friend. The energy was electrifying as the atmosphere grew and grew and Tim came down into the pit and worked the crowd. Throughout the gig Tim and bass player Martin Blunt beamed smiles a Cheshire cat would be proud of; they were loving every minute of the gig, and it was nice to see that the band were still grounded after over a decade in the business and 13 albums under their belt. Between songs and during guitar solos Tim would thank the crowd, blow kisses and constantly describe us "amazing".
 | | The Charlatans |
As the hits kept coming, the crowd began moshing and surfing with some of the biggest cheers of the night for arguably The Charlatans' best known single North Country Boy. It was great to hear that Brit pop anthem live, but some of my favourite songs of the night were One to Another, and You're So Pretty, We're So Pretty which Tim dedicated to "all the girls in the audience". ÌýThe performance by the band was charismatic and entertaining to say the least. Tim swaggered and danced around the stage like a combination of Mick Jaggar and fellow Mancunian Liam Gallagher. The Charlatans finished with How High, but the crowd weren't ready to leave by this point the atmosphere and heat were intense as football chants of "Charlatans, Charlatans" bellowed through the Academy. Encore They didn't disappoint as they came back to play a four song encore kicking off with the brilliant Indian Rope. They built up the crowd with fan favourite New York and finished with the immense Sproston Green.
 | | Photo by Stephanie McCarthy |
The crowd went crazy for the duration of the last song, and the only negative of the night was that it flew by so fast. It was one of the best gigs I've ever been to and it made me release how underrated the Charlatans are. As most fans of Indie music argue about whether Blur or Oasis were the greatest band of the nineties, I argue that the Charlatans are a strong contender for that title.Ìý Catch them live if you can to see what all the fuss is about. | 
