The Cheap Thrills delivered arguably their greatest night as the Walton Vale group almost took the roof off at their latest memorable Liverpool show.
‘How isn’t this a big hit?’ a voice from behind can be heard asking. It is his first experience of a Cheap Thrills headline gig and he’s blown away.
The song he refers to is the aptly-named Party, a track that has the Grand Central Hall’s dome feeling as though it is collapsing in on itself.
As the bodies bounced, hands pointed to the sky then towards the band. They were at the centre of the universe for the night.
With Party’s bridge ready-made to be belted out by thousands, the repetition of ‘we’re not going home’ feels as much of a statement as any political slogan to come from the city’s music scene in recent years.
It is message of defiance but not in an overtly political way. It is a declaration that we’re here, we’re here to stay and nobody is going to stop us having a good time.
And that is very much The Cheap Thrills’ mantra.
Coming from Liverpool 9, as they reminded us several times across the course of the evening, all four members attended the same primary school and remain at the centre of their Walton Vale community.
Though The Cheap Thrills are fiercely independent, this crowd is interestingly not your typical ‘indie’ crowd.
Though the audience consists of well over 1,000 – the gig sold out rapidly – everyone feels as though they know the group. It’s a Scouse affair.
That is testament to their hard work that has been ongoing since 2010.
Excellent songs, well-put-together marketing campaigns off the back of viral live clips and gigs, lots of them, has led to this.
Despite having taken The Olympia by storm a year ago, the group think Saturday’s occasion goes down as “the best one ever.”
The production value had clearly gone up a notch for the dome, with lights synced to the backing tracks adding a new dynamic to the show.
After The Kowloons, a Merseyside band backed consistently by The Cheap Thrills, and The Covasettes had warmed the crowd up, frontman Lewis Pike entered the stage to Tranquilo, an unexpected choice of opener.
The energy was relentless, there was time for some older tunes from the group’s early days and even when the slower songs gave the performers room to breathe, the audience had no such break.
Calypso Blue was sung word for word by the crowd but it was the two closing tracks, Party and Codependence that left their mark on those who were lucky enough to be there.
The recorded version of Codependence lasts three minutes and 19 seconds. Now, the live rendition spans more than nine minutes, and even then it doesn’t feel long enough.
It spreads message of solidarity; one that calls for people to to be open and care for those around them.
‘Look after each other’ is Pike’s parting message on the night.
Liverpool 9 is the centre of the universe for one of Merseyside’s most exciting bands.
For now they belong to Liverpool, but for how long?
Mersey Music 