The Libertines – Live Review – Leeds O2 Academy
By David Schuster, October 2024
Libertines’ gigs highlight the rich back catalogue the band has created over a period of more than 25 years. It’s surprising when you consider their continued volatility, but it does mean that you’re guaranteed to get a set list loaded with old favourites and peppered with surprises. Taking the stage casually without introduction, almost like roadies performing a final instrument check, they launch into a blistering opening salvo of tunes. ‘Up the Bracket’, with its signature finger gestures, is one of their all time classics. They move without pause into ‘I Have a Friend’, from the latest album All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade, another hit, ‘What Became of the Likely Lads’ and ‘Boys in the Band’, which pretty much captures the essence of the group in a nutshell.
So far then, pretty much as expected, the boys play with punk frenzy, sacrificing musical accuracy for speed and aggressive attack. This too is true to form; I doubt anyone goes to a Libertines’ gig expecting a display of instrumental finesse. But something’s not right, the sound is muddy, not fuzzy and over-driven, but just loud and strangely muffled, like you’re hearing it from another room. That’s not the whole of it though. There are those rare gigs where everything is on point, the band, the songs, the venue, and you’re treated to a truly memorable evening. Then there’s the opposite where, on the face of it, all the elements of a great evening are there, but that indefinable something is missing and you’re left vaguely disappointed. Sadly, this was one of those nights.
“Tired and jaded”
The chemistry between front men Doherty and Barat is legendary whether they are having huge fun together, or knocking bits off each other. Either of those extremes is based in passion, and often results in musical greatness. Tonight though, they may as well have been on different stages. There’s no interaction between them and both give off an air of being tired and jaded by the whole business. It’s left to bassist John Hassall and irrepressible drummer Gary Powell to carry the performance. It’s a difficult thing for a drummer to interact with the audience, but Powell pulls it off with aplomb. The band recognise this, and we get treated to a short but impressive drum solo, an oddity these days. At any opportunity, he appears from behind the impressively enormous kit to egg the audience on, exuding more personality than both frontmen combined.
Lighting and staging were both superb however. The backdrop is of a faded hotel frontage, exuding seedy past grandeur and evocative of the cover of All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade. Above the windows there are neon signs proclaiming the ‘Albion Rooms’. This is a nice touch for anyone in the know; it’s what the band used to call the Bethnal Green flat where they performed early gigs, but also the name of the boutique Margate hotel they set up and own. Behind Doherty there’s an array of Marshall valve amplifier heads, which should have produced that warm, fuzzy guitar sound I was expecting. Lighting was simple but effective, flooding the stage with single colours, moody blues and sinister reds, occasionally punctured with lighting flashes of incandescent white.
“Briefly regroup”
Anyway, back to the music, which has been going on whilst I’ve been contemplating the show. The slow songs exacerbate the problems mentioned, and even the arrival of long term collaborator, Andrew Newlove, on additional guitar failed to lift the gig. So, it became a case of the crowd waiting for the next fast track to come along. And, thankfully, come along they did. The first part of the show peaked with ‘Run, Run, Run’ from the new album, which shows that the boys can still produce cracking anthems, and which sits comfortably alongside their biggest hit, ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’. The momentum’s then lost again with a strange, albeit mercifully short break, during which the crowd is getting visibly antsy and there’s an uncomfortable atmosphere of menace. There’s then a second part, or extended encore, of seven more tracks. The musicians briefly regroup around the piano, in an interesting and intimate formation, which is promising, but is only used for a single song, ‘Man with the Melody’, before they return to their usual positions, with Doherty far left and Barat front and centre.
They wisely close the show with the ever popular ‘Don’t Look Back into the Sun’, the house lights come up and it’s left to Powell to leave the audience chanting, whilst the rest of the band exit as quietly as they arrived. Disappointing.
images: Glyn Wood
David Schuster describes himself as an “adventurer, collector, musician and writer. Not necessarily in that order.” Growing up west of the Pennine hills of the UK and living his adult life east of them, he’s inclined to think that the Wars of the Roses were a mistake. David loves discovering new bands and musicians and is happiest listening to live music. He has travelled extensively in the UK and is fascinated by the variety, history and landscapes of the thousands of islands that comprise the British Isles. David is always reassured when online shops confirm that he’s not a robot.
