By Jake Paterson, Co-Deputy Music Editor
Born out of the attention behind streamer Wilbur Soot’s handful of acoustic songs posted to his YouTube, Lovejoy became the full outlet for his songwriting – amassing a huge online audience almost instantly.
Having played their first few shows as a band under different monikers so as to get gig experience without the pressure of sell out shows, Lovejoy played their first eponymous show last year and have since embarked on this UK tour to multiple instant sell-outs.
It’s a testament to the die-hard fanbase that four of the people I was sat near on the barrier before the band came on had Lovejoy tattoos and had been in the queue since 10pm the night before. Rarely have I ever seen such dedication for a band with only two EPs and a handful of singles out in the world; the excitement in the venue was palpable, with the crowd cheering of their own volition based seemingly on no stimulus.
Opening with ‘You’ll Understand When You’re Older’ and ‘Model Buses’, it was hard to hear Wilbur over the roar of the crowd. The indie twinge on traditional bedroom pop tracks was built upon with two live trumpeters resembling a slightly warped version of The Wombats for a hyper-online generation. Unreleased track ‘Consequences’ received as warm a reception as the band’s oldest material.
Introducing us to the band, Wilbur revealed that members of the band have had a range of new acolades: from giving up vaping to obtaining their pilot’s licence. The different levels of taking the band full time has therefore hit each member differently – there was still the energy of a wholesome naivety to the show as they tried to work out how each piece of the performance best fits into place.
Closing the first half of the short hour-long set with ‘Sex Sells’ and ‘Taunt’, Soot referred repeatedly to the fact that they simply didn’t have any more rehearsed songs to perform to bulk out the show. It made for a sweet collective feeling however, as the band returned after the encore to play ‘Oh Yeah You Gonna Cry?’ for the first time on this tour, and Wilbur’s solo song ‘It’s All Futile! It’s All Pointless!’.
The most surprising moment, though, was when a couple got engaged during the new single ‘Call Me What You Like’. Soot was left in a half confused half joyous state after hearing the news, ‘What am I meant to say? Congratulations!’ he said still trying to find his feet.
As the band closed out with ‘Concrete’, which had the crowd jumping in unison, the beginning of Lovejoy as a live band seems set for great things and can only strengthen on what was a fantastically fun and catchy show.
Featured Image: Jake Paterson
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