Catfish and The Bottlemen make a comeback to Scotland and they are better than ever!
It’s the last of the Summer Session shows and who better to have headline than Catfish and The Bottlemen? It will be the Welsh group’s first Scottish gig in a few years as they make a comeback.
Queues lined up all around the Royal Highland Showgrounds as the weather was like an angry teenager not knowing what to do, with sprinkles of rain showers paired with beaming sunshine.
Dan South opened the stage with some tunes to get the crowd warmed up as they all descended onto the grounds taking their spaces in front of the stage for the night.
It was then Sundara Karma’s turn to entertain the crowd. I had heard good things about this band but I don’t feel like they gave their full potential for tonight’s set. I’m unsure if it was due to the fact the sun was blinding them or if they were just having an off day but their set wasn’t very energetic or exciting. Their vocals and sound were great though and were good to listen to.
The Big Moon took me by surprise, having never heard of them or saw them live before I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. An all-female indie rock band who brought their strong vocals, mixed with electric sound bringing up the excitement of the crowd as they waited for the main act to take to stage.
The sun has now gone down and the crowd are waiting in anticipation for Catfish and The Bottlemen to take to the stage. The intro music begins and the crowd roared followed by a silence and black stage for a few minutes as anticipation built up more. Finally, the spotlights flooded the stage and front man Van McCann looked happy as ever as he threw himself around the stage starting off the solid setlist with Longshot.
Starting off strong the setlist continued on with crowd favourites such as Kathleen, Soundcheck and Pacifier. Soundcheck came with a nice surprise of inflatables thrown into the crowd.
You would never have known that this band had a big shake up of members and have been out the gigging scene for so long as they are better than ever! Van’s energetic stage presence has me tired just watching him. The setlist was strong with fan favorites Fallout, Business and Homesick along with some unexpected contenders including Conversation, 2all and Rango.
The show came to an end with Fluctuate, 7 and an extended version of Cocoon which consisted of 3 choruses of Van singing A Capella. Although they didn’t adhere to the fans wishes of playing Tyrants or Showtime, the setlist was strong and the crowd was definitely happy with their favourites that did make the setlist as they chanted our anthem of “Here We F*cking Go”, showcased their homemade signs showing how far they travelled for the show (someone even came from the Phillippines!) and some even cried with happiness.
It’s very cliche for me to say but I honestly don’t think I can pick a highlight of this show, it was just phenomenal throughout. I am still in complete awe of seeing one of my favourite bands live again when I never thought I would after they announced their split in 2021.
English stadium shows have just recently been announced and I’m sure the other Scottish fans are the same as me in hoping they announce another Scottish gig for next year as nobody does it better than a Scottish crowd!