Originally when The Libertines’ first ever UK arena tour was announced I was sceptical of whether to go having seen them recently in smaller venues such as the O2 Academy and Barrowland – could they match these shows in an arena?
However, then Reverend & The Makers and The View were added as support acts and my mind was made up. What a support show this promised to be, three great bands in one gig!
The evening’s opening act Reverend & The Makers appeared without frontman Jon McClure (The Reverend) who walked on partway through opening song ‘Amsterdam’ asking the crowd to gather in for a picture. This worked a charm as suddenly the standing crowd was together in front of the stage rather than spread about. After this there was no stopping the Rev.
He rolled out hits from his five albums, turning the Hydro into the feel of a smaller show as the crowd went wild. The Reverend is undoubtedly one of the best frontmen around now and made sure the crowd kept up their side of the bargain and didn’t stop bouncing for the whole set. There were clearly a few other fans there with “the best tune on FIFA” ‘Shine The Light; and ‘Heavyweight Champion of the World’ getting big singalongs before the crowd turned trumpeters for closer ‘Silence Is Talking’. For half an hour the band gave the Hydro the same feel they gave King Tut’s two months ago, a superb support set.
Setlist:
Amsterdam
Open Your Window
Shine The Light
Black Widow
Makin’ Babies
Heavyweight Champion of the World
Miss Brown
Silence Is Talking
Up next were Scottish band The View, we were really feeling spoiled by now. The Dundonians similarly played hits from their five album back catalogue kicking off with early breakthrough song ‘Wasted Little DJs’. Half of the set came from their debut album ‘Hats Off To The Buskers’ with the crowd loving all of these.
Their more recent material was well received too with the crowd going wild for them as they would for a headliner. Another great set to warm us up for the main act. I’ve seen The View many times over the years but I never get bored of the excitement of their live show.
Setlist:
Wasted Little DJs
Grace
The Don
How Long
Under The Rug
Superstar Tradesman
Same Jeans
Sunday
The Libertines took to the SSE Hydro stage on time in Glasgow at a prompt 9:15, yes on time! In the many times I have seen Pete Doherty live I have rarely, if ever, seen him arrive on stage on time. This suggested to me that the band were really taking these arena shows seriously as a step up to the next level in terms of their size and reputation as a live act.
After two excellent support slots from Reverend & The Makers and The View the crowd required no further warming up before the main act but they provided some anyway with a lone piper taking the stage to perform ‘Flower of Scotland’ prompting a mass singalong while the band walked on stage during the song.
Of the four only bassist John Hassall sports the famous red Libertines jacket with Pete looking smart in a suit, tie and hat and Carl all in black with his leather jacket. Drummer Gary Powell soon takes off his t shirt as is typical during their shows.
After their last couple of tours mainly being about rolling out the old hits without much evidence of new material, it was pleasing to see this show kicked off by new album opener ‘Barbarians’, sounding great. All in, 8 tracks were aired from the 2015 album ‘Anthems For Doomed Youth’ meaning the show felt more contemporary and highlighted the band’s continued relevance.
Some of the new songs were in fact highlights of the show with chorus of ‘Fame and Fortune’ sounding as massive as any the band have ever written, whilst the tender ‘You’re My Waterloo’ brought some real intimacy to the arena. Carl briefly switched to piano for this song while Pete alone played the guitar. Having seen performances of this song previously on TV and heard the old demo for years, it was fantastic to finally witness it live.
There was still a healthy smattering of tracks from classic début album ‘Up The Bracket’ throughout the set with the title track opening the encore, possibly the band’s best song. A strong double whammy of ‘Time For Heroes’ and ‘The Good Old Days’ brought the set to a close. In recent times the band appear to have dropped ‘I Get Along’ from their set, these days favouring one of their biggest hits as their show closer in the form of ‘Don’t Look Back Into The Sun’.
The Libertines have proved they can step up to arenas in style, and bring one of the finest support bills I have seen in a long time. All in all a great night with three excellent performances.
Setlist:
Barbarians
The Delaney
Heart of the Matter
Horrorshow
Fame and Fortune
Boys in the Band
The Milkman’s Horse
What Katie Did
Anthem for Doomed Youth
You’re My Waterloo
The Man Who Would Be King
Gunga Din
Can’t Stand Me Now
Belly of the Beast
Death on the Stairs
Music When the Lights Go Out
Time for Heroes
The Good Old Days
Encore:
Up the Bracket
What a Waster
Don’t Look Back Into the Sun
Mumblings And Ramblings 