A city-sized members club welcome greeted Nothing But Thieves as they electrified New York among the shimmering lights of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan skyline.
“Oh No :: He Said What?” – Nothing But Thieves
When Nothing But Thieves announced that their fourth studio album, Dead Club City, would be a concept record, it raised a few eyebrows.
It wasn’t that the Essex alt-rock band wasn’t capable. Fronted by otherworldly vocalist Conor Mason, cemented by cerebral lyricist/guitarist Joe Langridge-Brown and inventive producer/guitarist Dom Craik, and rounded out by bassist Phil Blake and drummer James Price, the five-piece had earned indie acclaim, if not chart success.
But as even Langridge-Brown admitted at the time, it’s a cliche: Band finds success, band gets weird. Here, weird was a glamorous city-sized members-only club offering an escape from all suffering, only to disappoint (surprise). Yet along with its concept, Dead Club City’s intricate blend of prog rock, nu metal, ’80s glam and even soul drove it to the top of the UK charts, earning NBT their first number one, praise from Elton John, and a string of opening dates for Green Day.
So it was a special evening on Oct. 12 when the band brought one of the last legs of their Dead Club City tour to a place that could be the real Dead Club City sans regret: New York’s The Rooftop at Pier 17. It wasn’t the band’s first New York show since the album release–they played Brooklyn Steel last fall – but this dazzling venue surrounded by glittering high-rises and the swooping Brooklyn Bridge felt like it gave the Dead Club City its true arrival in New York.
Starting off the night was punk outfit Bad Nerves, who have hung around the U.S. quite a bit this year in opening spots for The Hives and Royal Blood. The Nerves pride themselves on the speed and veracity of their songs, with hits like “Baby Drummer,” “Can’t Be Mine” and “Don’t Stop” leading up to “Antidote,” “the fastest song we’ve got!” as proclaimed frontman Bobby Nerves.
Then it was Thieves time, and the Michael Jackson-like riff of “Oh No :: He Said What?” echoed across the salty breeze. Mason stepped to the mic, the crowd whooped, and they were off.
Mixing old, new and even brand-new, the setlist gave fans 20 of the best of NBT. Classics like “Trip Switch,” which earned the band a #1 on U.S. alternative radio, “Sorry” and “Amsterdam” show the beefy rock prowess of the two-guitar setup along with Mason’s always-startling range of falsetto to belting to his fabulous rock scream. Headbanging commenced with gusto for harder rock tracks like “If I Were You,” “Unperson,” “I’m Not Made By Design” and an instrumental mashup of some of their biggest riffs.
But effortlessly turning on a dime, ballads like “Soda,” “If I Get High” and “Impossible” drew cell phone lights and arms around shoulders as thousands of voices rose over every detuned, Radiohead-y chord, singing in both despair and elation. And an unreleased new tune, possibly named “Always, Always,” felt The War on Drugs-inspired, a wall of guitar and synth-blended sounds beneath a flowing, light vocal.
Mason’s quiet confidence commands attention not only for his voice and songwriting mastery, but also for his years of speaking out about mental health issues in the music world and in everyday life.
He also has the unaffected charm of someone who’s amazed at his success – as he talks and laughs easily with the crowd, you understand that in the typical, British, self-deprecating way, he and his bandmates really can’t believe they’re here. They’re a bunch of good lads from Essex, the kind who gave free guestlist tickets to their coffee server the morning of their Philadelphia show, according to the barista himself.
The only glimmer of deserved self-approval comes after “Soda,” with its chorus, “I don’t wanna be myself, it’s making me so unwell. I don’t wanna be myself, just wanna be someone else.” Mason grins sheepishly down at the microphone and admits, “These days, I do wanna be myself. My life’s f*ing great.”
With two electric guitarists swapping lead and rhythm, and Mason pulling on an acoustic now and then, the guitars are big, to say the least. Add in Blake’s body-shaking bass rumble, often creatively syncopated or walking, and the sound is layered and loud, but with enough restraint that in moody songs like “If I Get High,” Price shows his muster with clanging cymbals that build to some of the set’s most intense moments.
Throughout their career, Nothing But Thieves have staunchly stuck to their desire to make whatever music they want to make.
Album one was moody rock; album two was hard rock, album three was electronic rock, and now album four gives vibes that are all over the map.
The result is that a Nothing But Thieves crowd is full of a wide diversity of people. Metalheads and Swifties alike join forces at NBT’s shows, banging their heads to “Amsterdam” and tearfully swaying to “Impossible.” It’s a supportive, positive atmosphere, where people help each other and hold signs saying “Our piece of heaven is right here.”
The night ends with 3,000 pairs of lungs singing the uplifting pop-rock hit “Overcome,” with its universal message of resilience: “Redefine the pain to something more, and we shall overcome, as we’ve done before.”
A Nothing But Thieves show sure leaves you with that sentiment–that you can overcome, as you’ve done before.
— —
:: connect with Nothing But Thieves here ::
— —
Stream: “Overcome” – Nothing But Thieves
— — — —
Connect to Nothing But Thieves on
Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram
Discover new music on Atwood Magazine
© Mariah Senecal Reilly
© Mariah Senecal Reilly:: Stream Nothing But Thieves ::
