LOVE FAME TRAGEDY // THE CLUNY, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
Love fame tragedy bring their intimate uk tour to newcastle’s cluny.
★★★★☆ (4/5)
As someone who has been going to see The Wombats for almost 12 years now, it’s fair to say I’m no stranger to Matthew Murphy’s Liverpudlian-infused vocals and unique lyrics. I won’t hide the fact that it was nerve wracking when the frontman announced his solo project to the world, because OMG what about The Wombats!?, but it turns out I needn’t have worried. Each of Murph’s new tracks under Love Fame Tragedy have been just as catchy and that perfect balance of euphoric utopia contrasted against hopeless dystopia that I fell in love with.
Opening the evening at The Cluny in Newcastle was MiG 15, a Liverpool quartet with bags of enthusiasm, who I wasn’t initially familiar with but you better believe they’ve got a new fan now.
Strutting on stage looking incredibly smooth in a dashing outfit complete with blackout sunglasses, frontman Adam Bray oozed with charisma as his Scouse accent caressed danceable tunes. Cracking vocals and loads of fun, tracks such as Cellophane Girl stuck out with its twinkling, electronica synths and dreamy chorus as well as the futuristic-tinted Intersellar.
There’s a unique sound about MiG 15 that has got me desperate to hear more - will definitely be catching them again soon.
Next up was Leeds lads Full Colour and their energetic indie-rock. Despite some sound issues at the start, which unfortunately lingered and made it difficult to make out frontman Conrad Berriff’s impressive vocals, the audience were certainly familiar with these guys. With memorable choruses and poppy melodies, Full Colour had no problem getting the crowd moving and it was lush to see adorning fans so early on in their journey.
Although they made me feel incredibly old at the tender age of 27 with their youthful fresh faces, they were a great addition to warm us all up before the main act.
As soon as Murph and the rest of the Love Fame Tragedy outfit walked onto the stage they were greeted by screams from fangirls and fanboys alike, each one of us edging closer to the stage. I’m not even ashamed to say I was one of those fangirls.
Full of his usual banter and cracking the occasional dry joke or two with his audience, Murph held us all in the palm of his hands as he launched into the funky Hardcore, the lively Riding A Wave and the emotive Pills.
Each track on the setlist was played with such rigour and passion that you couldn’t take your eyes (and ears) away from the stage. Murph was of course on top form, reaching every falsetto with his distinctive tones we’ve grown to love and the rest of the outfit followed suit at the same exceptional level. A fabulous drummer, soaring keys and powerful basslines all added to the package of what really was a brilliant set.
Announcing that there would in fact be an encore, Murph ‘dramatically’ returned to the stage to play the delicate Please Don’t Murder Me (Part 2) before launching into the anthemic My Cheating Heart with its foot tapping opening beats before culminating into glittering soundscapes.
Could happily relive this gig over and over again - let’s not leave it so long next time Murph.