“It’s our job to make sure you leave feeling better than when you arrived” declared lead singer Oli Fox. Well, it is fair to say that Good Neighbours are sheer geniuses at their job.
How many concerts have you been to where once you are in the venue you are greeted by a ring doorbell that asks you to leave a message for you valentines? Personally never, but gold star to Good Neighbours for creating something different and fun.
Arriving just in time for the supporting acts, I anchored myself with a lemon hooch to the left side of the wide stage, and eagerly anticipated hearing some new, live music. The support acts consist of indie rapper Master peace who got the crowd hyped and chanting “I don’t wanna go home,” while circulating himself among the audience. It is difficult to forget the exciting, emerging four-piece band Fletchr Fletchr. With a gloomy, rich sound to them, it was enticing to hear as they made their way through their EP, including some unreleased tunes such as ‘Life’ which was the final song of their set. Introduced by the lead singer as a song he wrote to help manage the grief of losing his father, making it a pivotal moment for the night.
Taking to the stage; Good Neighbours brought an energy that lit up the New Century Hall. Shifting their way through their recently released album ‘Blue-Sky Mentality,’ they played songs such as ‘People Need People’ who they dedicated to the ‘Fifa boys’ of the crowd. Bringing nothing but energy, Oli Fox; one half of the duo, took control of the stage sprinting back and forth, making me feel out of breath just watching him. Oli has a stage presence that is encapsulating to witness, he holds the energy of a wound-up Labrador, which is not a negative thing.
The sound of Good Neighbours was as if Empire Of The Sun had come together with MGMT and birthed a British baby. Just pure indie-popness with euphoric synths and high “Ahhs” that sounded just like the recorded version.
When it came to performing ‘The Buzz,’ described by Oli as “The one boyfriends hate,” a more slow, tranquil track giving the crowd a moment to catch their breath and relax. However, it was not for long as they kicked the energy straight back up with ‘Walk Walk Walk’ and got the whole room jumping to the point where the floor felt as if it was going to fall through.
When it came to nearing the end of their set, Good Neighbours serenaded the audience with their most known and comforting song ‘Home,’ provoking everyone to put their arms around each other and sing along.
Reappearing to do an encore, ‘Daisies’ got everyone jumping and waving their arms in the air. Banging along to the drum that was bouncing off the walls, smiles and laughs were etched on everyone’s face; even the mother and father who had brought their young daughter to the concert were smiling and jumping along, clearly enjoying themselves.
Typically, after a gig your feet hurt and all you want is water. This time it was different, all I wanted was to do it again and for the concert to be longer.
