By Jolee Flatman
Although Cambridge is just a few hours’ drive from my hometown, when attending gigs here it is normally my usual routine to make a day out of it. Just a short walk from the concert venue is a rustic style, homely pub; we always land up here for an hour or so, just before heading back to queue for the doors opening. Every time New Model Army plays in Cambridge, the same individuals congregate here, meaning many faces become recognizable. This could largely be due to New Model Army’s unusual fan following, almost tribe like. It is not easy at all to shortlist it down to certain demographics: it is a mix of generations, with usually the adults bringing their family or young children. For instance, there was a sweet young girl, who was only aged ten, who was brought to this concert with her parents.
In great concert style, the doors for the venue opened almost half an hour later, than what was stated on the event pages. Once you have attended concerts for many years, it has almost become expected. Queueing for that little bit extra was certainly chilly due to the time of the year, but definitely a laugh, as it was the town centre’s Christmas lights switch on – the line of people was greeted by Father Christmas on a sleigh, handing out chocolates hahaha!
The Cambridge Junction venue has to be one of my favourites, due to the layout. A very decent sized floor area, with bars both at the left and right of the room, having facilities easily accessible is key, especially with lively atmospheres. The venue gradually filled up, with almost everyone purchasing a piece of merchandise from New Model Army’s table.
With only one support act, the stage was already prepared with kit for the headliner, resulting in Yur Mum having to set up around this. Luckily, being just a two-piece rock band – vocalist and bassist Anelise Kunz was towards the left of the stage, while drummer Fabio Couto on the right. Despite the awkward set up, they both maintained an exceptional connection between themselves, and not appear isolated. It was nice to also see the fans observe both Anelise and Fabio, when usually some crowds just pay attention to the vocalist. Considering it was a few hours before the headlining act were scheduled to play, the room was pretty packed with good crowd engagement, it is always good to see people making the effort to come down early and watch the support act.
My estimation was that Yur Mum has around a 40-minute set, bursting with energy and passion. Anelise only took one chance to speak to the crowd, and even then she came across very concise, as she admitted she just came to play and ‘rock out’. It was clear to see that each of them had heaps of passion for what they did and put every ounce of their energy into the performance, creating a frantic atmosphere on stage. Overall, a very solid support act, it suited the feel of the night, and injected some adrenaline into the room.
- Yur Mum play the Three Wise Monkeys in Colchester on Thursday (21 November), the Anvil in Bournemouth on Saturday (23), the Lady Luck in Canterbury on Sunday (24), the Crofters Rights in Bristol next Monday (25) and The Grace in London on Friday 29 November.
The atmosphere in the room became very lively, into the lead up of New Model Army’s slot time, the room was near enough full to capacity, with everyone pushing and shoving towards the front barrier. At the back of the stage was a large flag, with shadows of black branches on it, just like the newest album ‘From Here’ artwork. After the crew had finished unveiling the band’s equipment, the lights suddenly went out, with a dim orange light creating silhouettes on the stage, before each member appearing. The crowd went ecstatic, with many people shouting, whistling and clapping. Shockingly, the band opened with the track ‘No Rest’, which erupted the room and chaos began. Considering it was the newest album tour, I was not expecting such a classic, old song to be the opener, but was for sure not complaining! Other tracks on the setlist included: Weather, 51st State, From Here, States Radio and War.
The structure of the set was very well thought out, with a fast-paced song that would send the crowd wild, to straight after having a more calm, tense atmosphere where singing along took place, which continued like a circle. Part of the iconography for New Model Army, is for members of the crowd to stand on other’s shoulders and perform a tribal-like movement with their arms. Multiple individuals at a time did this on the night, surprisingly they were not stopped, or discouraged by security. Meanwhile a rough push-pit broke out around those doing this. In modern times, many people like to get their phone out regularly and record songs. Interestingly, it is a rare thing to see this at NMA’s gigs, everyone is so caught up in the moment, rather than looking at a screen.
The technical side, including the lights and sound were on point, with no faults at all. The lighting in particular helped to create an eerie atmosphere in many tracks, with a stained-glass window effect in the background, while each member of the band is almost like a silhouette. Combined with Justin’s piercing stare, the crowd was tense, gradually building up, before exploding into pure aggression.
Overall, NMA gave a faultless performance, their live presence is something very unusual, it captures everyone in the room. There was not one moment where anything could have been improved or tweaked, and every single person walked out of the venue amazed, sweaty and exhausted.
- New Model Army play the Live Rooms in Chester tomorrow (Tuesday 19 November), the Boiler Shop in Newcastle Upon Tyne on Wednesday (20), the Liquid Rooms in Edinburgh on Thursday (21), the O2 Ritz in Manchester on Saturday (23), the O2 Institute in Birmingham on Saturday (23), Concorde 2 in Brighton on Thursday 12 December and Rock City in Nottingham on Saturday 21 December.
- All content © Über Rock. Not to be reproduced in part or in whole without the express written permission of Über Rock.