To put it bluntly, this has been a long awaited tour, I spoke to some of the punters before the show and they said they had purchased their tickets before the FIRST lockdown which seems like a lifetime ago and even now, they would have to wait a short while longer while the support act, CMAT, the wonderful Irish soloist, did her thing.

It was a great way to open the evening, with her quirky, self deprecating style (were those black and white cowboy boots under that dress?!?!?) and beautiful, soft Irish accent. The banter was sharp and the songs delivered with the widest smile. From her comments it seems she has had a hard time from the crowd in previous gigs but 'the barrier crew' cheered her along, with the crowd joining in clapping and singing in all the right places.

Finally, just to add to the image, Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, to give her her full name, set down her guitar and perched on a stool to play her Suzuki Omnichord, never heard of one? nor me, but a quick google when I got in showed that she was in esteemed piece of kit with fellow Omnichord aficionados including Damon Albarn, Cyndi Lauper, Taylor Swift and even the late great David Bowie.

As the memories of the Omnichord faded, it was time for the headline act. From the get go, Declan McKenna had the crowd screaming with delight. His entrance music, the Beatles classic "With a Little Help From My Friends" had the audience singing along and seemed to educate the crowd on how this was going to work.

Backed by a four-piece band, Mckenna launched into "Beautiful Faces" that had everyone singing and, as instructed by the chorus "lift your hands up and lead us back home" waving their hands to the sky. He looked every inch the rock star with a long flowing jacket (no it wasn't a dressing gown or a smoking jacket!) and a gold glitter telecaster matching the glitter around his eyes. The confetti cannons at the end of the first song seemed to suggest dreams of large venues but the crowd lapped it up.

He rattled through the songs from his two albums and it's crazy to think he is a bit of an old hand at this as it’s been over four years since his debut album What do you think about the car? landed. I counted nearly 20 songs in the fast-paced set. Going beyond teen angst and girls, his songs direct protest at things such as UK's foreign policy (British Bombs) and FIFA (Brazil) and you could see a real passion from him as the songs were delivered.  

He swayed, he rocked, he got angry and then he slowed things down before hitting the crowd again with a bit more energy. The glam rock themed stage, with its black and white swirls was perfectly lit and seemed to transfix the crowd at times into a psychedelic trance.

This show was well worth the wait, and demonstrated that Declan McKenna has a strong future as he develops his style and approach, driven by an unquestionable desire to truly make a difference. 

Words and Pictures © GM Gig Photography