Shockwaves NME Awards Indie Rock Tour is go

The View, Automatic, Horrors and Mumm-ra hit Belfast

The Shockwaves NME Awards Indie Rock Tour kicked off tonight (January 29) as The Automatic, The View, The Horrors and Mumm-Ra hit Belfast’s Ulster Hall.

Though Horrors singer Farris Rotter attempted to exit the venue mid-song through a third story window, Mumm-Ra spun a duck around on a drumstick and The Automatic keyboard player Pennie allegedly destroyed the glasses of a front row fan, all eyes remained fixed on Dundee chart-toppers The View.

Taking the stage to thunderous applause and sporadic chants of “The View, The View, The View are on fire”, Kyle Falconer and co ripped through a set which included top three single ‘Same Jeans’ as well as ‘Wasted Little DJ’s’, ‘The Don’, ‘Gran’s For Tea’, ‘Wasteland’, ‘Posh Boys’ and uproarious closer ‘Superstar Tradesman’.

Advertisement

Swigging from bottles of champagne and Jack Daniel’s all day, the four-piece were in full-on celebratory mood prior to their performance.

“Aye, its fuckin’ great to be startin’ this tour,” guitarist Pete Reilly told NME.COM. “We had a free bar put on yesterday when we heard the album went Number One. It’s a great fuckin’ feelin’ but we cannae wait for tonight. Belfast is fuckin’ great.”

Though The View’s riotous set paved the way for an upstage, this year’s headliners The Automatic weren’t about to give up so early on.

Raising their game, the Welsh four-piece opened with album favourite ‘By My Side’ before launching into ‘Raoul’, ‘Seriously Guys…I Hate You’ and festival stomper ‘Monster’.

Showcasing two new songs, ‘Steve McQueen’ and ‘Revolution’, the Cowbridge foursome also covered Talking Heads‘ 1979 single ‘Life During Wartime’, during which Pennie leapt into the front row, knocking the glasses off a fan.

Afterwards drummer Iwan Griffiths explained: “We heard a guy lost his glasses, so we sorted him out with some T-shirts. What can you expect though, with a crowd as mental as that! They were so into it. Any worries we might have had of following The View – given the wave they’re on – has subsided. What a start.”

Advertisement

Earlier Mumm-Ra had opened proceedings with a set that saw frontman Noo spin the band’s plastic mascot Matthew The Duck on a drumstick, followed by by Farris Rotter, who concluded a typically eventful Horrors set by climbing from a speaker stack before leaping onto the balcony and attempting to climb towards the windowsill of the venue’s huge church-like windows.

The tour continues tomorrow (January 30) at the Ambassador in Dublin, while the Shockwaves NME Awards Indie Rave Tour featuring Klaxons, CSS, New Young Pony Club and The Sunshine Underground, kicks off on February 3.

You May Also Like

Advertisement

TRENDING

Advertisement

More Stories