The return of The Coral is in full swing. It's not always easy to keep a band together, but these guys have shown grit and determination to do so, taking themselves back to their beginnings by engineering everything on their latest album 'Distance Inbetween', reviving addictive rifts that made them what they are in the first place.
You always know that you are in for a good night when you venture out to see these guys, but kicking things off at the brilliant venue that is The Kasbah were two other acts. Cut Glass Kings from neighbouring Birmingham start proceedings with their heavy sounds and a style not too dissimilar to Bad Blood, but after a couple of songs there was an air of predictability about them. Things were about to get interesting, though, with next act Cabbage. They're the band that everyone is talking about at the moment, having already been named on the BBC Sound Of 2017 long-list where their contemporaries were none too similar.
You can already see that the band have developed a good following and on certain songs from their previous EPs, it's easy to see why. 'Kevin' and 'Dinner Lady' certainly get the crowd going, with guitarist Joe Martin handing his guitar to Lee Broadbent and taking over on lead vocals. These guys clearly aren't shy and looked up for getting right into the crowd were they not the supporting act of the night. One of the highlights of Cabbage's set has to be the fantastically controversial 'Free Steven Avery (White America)'.
With a back catalogue like The Coral's, it's interesting to see what they picked for the set list tonight. 'Chasing The Tail' off the latest album kicks things off followed by 'White Bird', both of which sound extraordinary in a live setting. Meanwhile, the songs which established them as a band have not been forgotten and the Coventry crowed are treated to classics like 'Simon Diamond', 'Calendars and Clocks' and 'Don't Think Your the First', all off the debut album. The set is completed with the great noise infused 'Arabian Sands', and the lads depart briefly before the encore which is a 10 minute version of 'Goodbye'.
It is an excuse for the band to show off their incredible guitar skills and an amazing way to kick into an encore. Predictably (though not disappointingly) the song that draws an end to the night is 'Dreaming Of You'. It is everything that you want from a night at a gig, the only issue now is decide which takeaway to choose outside the venue.
Mark Moore
