Elbow

Prior to a startling performance of the deeply personal ‘The Night Will Always Win’, Elbow’s Guy Garveypays homage to the late John Macbeath – the founder of the Roadhouse, the venue in their home city of Manchester where the band played early gigs under the name Soft (cringe!) – who sadly passed away last month.

And therein lies the beauty of the band. In their 22 years together, Elbow have slowly, but surely, grown into giants on the music scene, yet their roots remain firmly in their home soil. Despite maintaining a solid fan base back home through the release of their first three albums, it wasn’t until they won the Mercury Music Prize in 2008 (for the critically acclaimed The Seldom Seen Kid) that they became the stadium-fillers they are today.

The same is true of Australia. The boys from Bury went down a storm at V Festival back in 2009, and returned to similar appreciation at last year’s Splendour in the Grass, plus a sold out sideshow at the Enmore.

For this tour, Elbow have upsized to the Horden Pavillion. Despite its hangar-like architecture, it feels pleasantly intimate when filled with Garvey’s soaring vocals and the grand sounds of his ever-faithful band mates. This night, they showcase the songs responsible for their heightened success, with the set list split predominantly between last year’s Build a Rocket, Boys! and The Seldom Seen Kid, with a smattering of earlier material.

‘The Birds’ swoops majestically over the ears of the large crowd with the stature of a closing number, but this is merely the beginning. From here on in it’s business as usual for an outfit who’ve honed their strengths during main stage appearances at Glastonbury, Coachella and Benicassim since their promotion to the big league.

‘Mirrorball’ glistens, with lush melodies linking seamlessly with the string accompaniment. Appropriately, Garvey is illuminated by the lights which shine from the simple but effective disco prop hanging from the ceiling. ‘The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver’ is delivered with similar brilliance shortly afterwards, but not before the drum-thumping ‘Grounds for Divorce’, which provides one of many moments of mass audience participation.

Garvey has his fans in the palm of his hands from the outset of the show with his Mancunian wit and charm. Tonight undoubtedly ticks all of the boxes. Recent tracks ‘Lippy Kids’ and the embracing anthem ‘Open Arms’ blend flawlessly with older tracks, ‘Puncture Repair’ and the magnificent ode to returning home post-tour, ‘Station Approach’.

The curtain closes on events with ‘One Day Like This’; a song that shines optimism through a cloud of regret. It has been the finale of the band’s shows for the past five years, and is still the obvious choice. You might think they’d be bored with it by now. But if you received the adoration it receives tonight, night after night, how could you be?

Everything Elbow do is truly professional, yet remains humbly inclusive. They may have moved onto bigger and better things in recent years, but they’ll never leave their fans behind.