Britain is providing uncharacteristically nice weather, which is great, considering it is June after all. And whilst for many, Glastonbury weekend beckoned, for others a trip to the seaside, more specifically to Scarborough’s open air theatre, was on the cards instead. With the sun shining on them for the last Friday of June, Snow Patrol performed a host of hit tracks to create a memorable evening.
The band were joined by two support acts, The Florentinas and Freya Ridings. Sadly, due to a delay getting in, as the amount of people trying to enter the venue was rather a lot, I missed the entirety of The Florentina’s set. However, thanks to the venue being, as you can imagine, completely open, the sound of their instruments floated overhead. Intrigued by what could be heard, a quick search on the internet told me everything I needed to know. I should have gotten there earlier. Their stuff is worth a listen, and it’s a shame that I didn’t get to hear it live for myself.
Next out onto the stage was Freya Ridings who opened with ‘Castles’ to a slew of applause. Playing a mix of both old and new songs, Freya had a strong stage presence, which was very impressive considering she spent most of her set behind a piano. Even though she didn’t strut around the stage or dance about, the emotion that emanated from each track highlighted her gorgeous voice, and you could genuinely be moved to tears by her songs. It felt like a very personal set.
She expressed her gratitude to be supporting Snow Patrol, explaining how she would sing ‘Run’ at open mic nights when she was starting out. Her style suits Snow Patrol perfectly and the two acts really complimented each other. Someone in the audience called her a ‘tortured soul’ as all her songs tell a story, most of which could be considered sad. Her lyrics are moving and captivating, particularly ‘Lost Without You’, which she ended with. Admittedly the reason why that song felt so familiar is because it features in an advert, but one that always makes me want to cry, so point proven!
After a fair bit of set up, Snow Patrol appeared on stage at almost bang on 9pm. The audience gave them a warm welcome as they played ‘Take Back the City’ and continued showing their excitement and appreciation the whole time they performed. Of course, ‘Run’ and ‘Chasing Cars’ got a considerably louder cheer thanks to them being the band’s two biggest hits. The audience actually did quite a lot of heavy lifting singing along, with Gary Lightbody giving us the opportunity to take over at times. The sound of an audience shouting the lyrics back to you must be a great feeling, knowing that every person in the crowd knows the words to your songs. Despite being around for nearly 30 years, Gary’s face still displays a look of disbelief at how beloved they really are.
Having already seen Snow Patrol live before (at Tramlines Festival last year when they headlined the Sunday) I kind of knew what to expect from them. Their setlist was actually nearly identical, playing a range of songs from almost all eight of their albums, which just proves how well their songs work in every environment to different crowds. As always, their first two albums were overlooked, but surprisingly they only played one track from their latest album, The Forest is the Path, instead choosing to focus on tracks from the middle of their career.
Gary was friendly with the crowd, with someone even throwing him a teddy bear which he happily accepted, bantering as he did so. By the end, the band had everyone in the seated areas up and dancing, or waving their phone torches to ‘What if this is All the Love you Ever Get’. And of course the obligatory encore got everyone hyped.
The screens behind Snow Patrol provided visuals as well, which at times looked spectacular. During ‘What if This Storm Ends’, which was hauntingly beautiful anyway, the screens showed leaves swirling in an increasingly faster motion as the song built. As it reached its pinnacle, a breeze in real life blew across the crowd. Though something not in the band’s control, let me tell you, it was very immersive.
As always they sounded amazing, the sound quality absolutely impeccable. At times the guitars were a tad loud, but not distractingly so. As a reviewer, if you wanted to pick a hole in the show, that might be something, but that’s just trying to find criticism in a flawless performance. If that’s the worst thing, I’d say that Snow Patrol did a great job and they are a band I would happily go back to watch again and again.
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