In around a week’s time, Feeder release the first double album of their three-decade career, “Black / Red” – a record that frontman Grant Nicholas described as “a musical pilgrimage” that he feels is “undeniable Feeder.”
Well, on the final night of their triumphant 18-date UK tour [at London’s sold out iconic Roundhouse in Camden], 3,000 Feeder pilgrims paid homage to the band, which today features two of the three original members, Grant and his compadre Taka Hirose on bass and vocals, after the death of Jon Lee in 2002.
The band are as busy and in demand as ever on the 30th anniversary since they formed in Newport in 1994 – straight back out on the road a few days after this tour closes, for 11 promo’ events across the UK; in-store signings/performances and Q&As to promote the new album which drops on Friday 5th April. [All of those dates can be seen at the bottom of the page].
No signs of slowing down or any end of tour fatigue. Nothing to complain about at all. I could end the review here and suggest you just look at the lovely pictures our lens man Liam took at this gig, and take my word for it. This avoiding any potential verbosity and/or repetitious praise of this band and this superb gig. But the editor may well get the right hump if I turn in so few words. So I continue…
Following an enjoyable set by support act Daytime TV, Grant and Taka are joined by Tommy Gleeson on guitar and Geoff Holyroyde on drums for their headline spot.
A faultless performance with plenty of energy, much light and shade via the balanced 17-song set, which includes two for the encore. We got the hits, of course, and a clutch of tracks as a teaser of the new long player.
They deliver eight of the 18 songs on the new double album in tonight’s set. They open the night with “ELF”, and also offer up “Playing With Fire”, the superb new single “Hey You”, “The Knock”, “Lost In The Wilderness” and “Soldiers Of Love” – the latter song has a bagpiper introduction and is the first of two encore numbers.
They close with “Just A Day”, which has emotional connotations as it was the final single featuring the late Jon Lee. “Feeling a Moment” is third song up, the first of their hits they will treat us to this evening.
Setlist
ELF
Kyoto
Feeling a Moment
Lost in the Wilderness
Fear of Flying
Just the Way I’m Feeling
The Knock
Hey You
Playing With Fire
Come Back Around
Insomnia
Tangerine
Torpedo
High
Buck Rogers
Encore:
Soldiers of Love
Just a Day
Title track of their 2022 album, “Torpedo” comes three quarters of the way through the set and is well received. The incoming new album completes a trilogy of albums joined to “Torpedo”.
The band have said the tracks across “Black / Red” [which is on Big Teeth Music via Townsend Music / Absolute Label Services – on digital, CD and vinyl], carry the same vibe of the “wide-open space, freedom and possibility, aligned with an optimistic energy that first lit the fuse for ‘Torpedo’ “.
The latest single “Hey You” is a very decent track and the writing and the performance screams out that this band is not done just yet after 30 years, and have plenty left in the tank, creatively.
One of my faves of the Roundhouse gig. “Hey You” hits its highs as a contemplative, swelling and triumphant new offering from the double album project.
Big response from the fans for the band’s hit single “Just The Way I’m Feeling”, which prompts a mass singalong. Another chart hit, “Come Back Around” is also a winner, as is the early single “High”. Their anthemic “Buck Rogers” precedes the encore, and was a cracking effort tonight.
Cohesive and connected rather than a concept, “Black / Red” is a continuation of Torpedo’s conversation but at the same time a full stop on a prolific songwriting period that encapsulates a very specific moment in time for the band.
Feeder’s first ever double album became the perfect way for them to not only realise what these songs mean together in the present day, but also to show the breadth of a sound they’ve honed across the decades, taking in muscular riffs, sky-scraping melodies and heartfelt sentiment.
Talking about the new album, vocalist, guitarist and writer Grant Nicholas says: “I really wanted the album to be split in two parts for the listener, CD1 and CD2, black and red rather than be one long player, almost like a musical production with an interval.
“Making it was a very creative time for me as a writer and a real labour of love. Making the ‘Black / Red’ album, for me personally, was a musical pilgrimage and I feel the end result is undeniable Feeder.”
11 albums since their debut “Polythene” in 1997; the new one, “Black/Red” makes it 12, and it drops on 5th April 2024, two years after their last long player.
Based on the strength of the material on the new album and on this mighty live performance – which I believe represented seven of the band’s previous albums – Feeder’s legacy is still very much in tact.
Catch them on their record store promo’ dates if you can get a ticket, or at various festivals this summer, including The Isle Of Wight. You will not be disappointed – me and 2,999 others here tonight can testify to that!
Photos: Liam Battersby
Words: Christopher Weston
Feeder – Instore performances, signings and special band Q&As
04 April – PRYZM, London, UK – SOLD OUT
05 April – Glasgow, Stereo, UK (7pm) + x
06 April – Jacaranda, Liverpool, UK (7pm) + x
07 April – Brudenell, Leeds, UK – SOLD OUT
08 April – Rough Trade, Nottingham (12pm) x
08 April – HMV The Vault, Birmingham (5pm) + x
09 April – HMV, Cardiff (12pm) x
09 April – Rough Trade, Bristol, UK – SOLD OUT
10 April – Signature Brew, London, UK (7:30pm) + #
11 April – Rough Trade East, London, UK (12pm) x
11 April – Chalk, Brighton (7pm) + x
+ Live performance
x Signing
# Q&A
