Band: Kids In Glass Houses
Venue: O2 Academy, Oxford
Date: 10/10/13
It’s been a long time since the KIGH boys have played Oxford – in fact we can’t remember the last time the did (although this may be down to our old age). Either way, by their own admission, it has been a long time since Oxford was treated to the overpowering tones of those delightful Welsh boys.
Not only that but this is in fact the final stop of a whirlwind tour that has taken them from coast to coast and back again in support of their new album. Kicking off a triumphant set was a task given to ‘Peace‘; the title track of the newest album released earlier this year, which seamlessly slipped into current single ‘Drive‘ – proving just how brilliant live this album is sounding already.
The set in it’s entirety included a heady mix of all the band’s impressive previous efforts. Not only were we gifted with the tracks we have come to know like the back of our hand (tracks such as ‘Saturday‘, ‘Undercover Lover‘ and ‘Give Me What I Want‘) but also those that are lesser heard from the boys in a live setting – ‘LilliRose‘, ‘Artbreaker I‘, ‘Easy Tiger‘ for example- ones that newer fans may have not been so familiar with but older ones would have been loving instantly.
Of course, as this is a tour to support and publicise ‘Peace‘, the setlist was always going to be new-material heavy, but with snippets of their older material thrown in for good measure, this certainly was a fan-friendly performance – albeit slightly odd to have only included one track from 2011’s release ‘In Gold Blood‘ (and not even the title track or personal favourite ‘Animals‘ but the lesser known ‘Fire‘). Rounding the evening off with ‘Matters At All‘ was always going to be a safe bet – an instant energy boast to finish off with a sing-a-long of huge proportions.
By ending the tour in an impressive style, playing to a heaving Oxford audience, let’s hope the boys from The Valleys don’t wait quite as long to come back next time.
7/10
Reviewer: Amy Jones
