THE NME AWARDS TOUR 2017 FEATURING BLOSSOMS // O2 ACADEMY, GLASGOW
Blossoms round off The NME Awards Tour in style at the O2 Academy in Glasgow
BLOSSOMS PLAYING GLASGOW'S O2 ACADEMY AS PART OF THE NME AWARDS TOUR 2017
PICTURE BY: SARINA MCCABE PHOTOGRAPHY
The Stockport 5-piece were joined by Rory Wynne and Cabbage completing the line-up for a sweaty night in Glasgow.
First up was 17 year old Rory Wynne playing a selection of songs mainly from his recent EP aptly titled ‘What Would Rory Wynne Do?’ The rising indie teen played a strong set, throwing his guitar and storming off the stage in the final song setting up nicely for the next act, Cabbage.
Cabbage never fail to make an impact during their live performances and tonight was no different, from the first song to the last the Manchester band had the crowd held with a grungy and powerful set. The songs appear messy yet polished with politically influenced lyrics about post-brexit Britain and Jeremy Corbyn.
Both Lee Broadbent and Joe Martin take turns at lead vocals and with their eccentric off-kilter style the crowd is hooked. After releasing ‘Young Dumb and Full of’, a compilation of their previous EPs, earlier this year Cabbage are set for a busy 2017 joining Kasabian on their UK tour and playing their own shows around Europe. This is band you don't want to miss.
Next up is the act that everyone has came to see. Even before Blossoms have graced the stage the crowd is hyped up with sing-a-longs to The Courteeners, The Smiths and Oasis.
Lights out, the crowd goes into a frenzy as Black Skinhead is blasted over the speakers. With a layer of fog covering the stage, the five piece emerge and go straight into ‘At Most a Kiss’ with the crowd screaming every lyric back to the band.
With the fog cleared the band continue with favourites from their self titled 2016 debut album, “Texia" and “Blow”. The band go silent allowing the crowd to belt out the end of ‘Blow’. The song flows nicely into next tune ‘Getaway’ which again has the crowd gripped.
The set now takes a slightly slower turn with ‘Smashed Pianos’ and ‘Smoke’ coming next. The crowd is still bouncing with several mosh pits appearing, this seems a little out of place with the slower tempo songs but the youthful crowd seem to be loving it.
The set continues as singer Tom Ogden swaps to an acoustic guitar for ‘Across the Moor’, a funky tune clearly paying homage to the 80s synth pop of New Order and Kate Bush. Fan favourite ‘Honey Sweet’ and b-side ‘Fourteen’ come after and Blossoms begin to really show their class showing ay doubters why they've sold out all 13 nights of this tour. Honey Sweet continues the set with the crowd lapping up every word.
Next up is frontman Tom Ogden’s time to shine as the rest of the band vacate the stage. He asks the crowd if anyones “ever been dumped” to which a few hands raise, almost reluctantly, into the air. He selects a lad at the front and asks his name and the name of his heartbreak who turns out to be standing next to him. Callum and Nicole then get next song ‘My Favourite Room’ dedicated to them as many of the Glasgow crowd are lifted onto shoulders.
The crowd join in unison to belt out the words, with Ogden holding them in the palm of his hand. As the song finishes, he switches into Baby Birds ‘You’re Gorgeous’, Oasis classics ‘Half the World Away’ and ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ as well as ‘Last Christmas’, a tribute to the late George Michael.
A definite highlight of the night has the crowd gagging for more and as Ogden leaves the stage, the flickering lights leave time for reminiscence and excitement builds for the inevitable encore.
As expected the boys came out to finish off the set with ‘Cut me and I’ll Bleed’, ‘Polka Dot Bones’, ‘Deep Grass’ and their biggest hit ‘Charlemagne’ rounding off an exceptional performance.
For fans of Blossoms the gig was everything expected and more. You feel these lads have something special and this performance showed their class. They return to Glasgow on Sunday the 9th of July for TRNSMT Festival and you’d be daft to miss it.