THE COURTEENERS: Live at the Academy in Leeds on Friday the 26th of March and their fab new album “Falcon”.

“Billy Shakespeare would be spinning in his grave” (Sycophant)

Liam Fray seems to have a bit of an obsession with one or two things; Shakespeare and Morrissey. Listening to the album he seems to mention or refer to these two characters an awful lot. Don’t get me wrong they are hardly lightweight reference points.  Morrissey himself had a bit of a thing with literary references; Keats, Yeats, Wilde and even  naming a song after a relative of the Bard. (Shakespeares Sister)

“You’re gonna shatter, it’s not too late to undo. Put the fiddle down, the taming of the shrew” (You overdid it Doll)

I have lived with the album for a few weeks now and conclude that it is actually quite good. Not as immediate as the first (St Jude) but certainly a good album. The northernline even ventured out to see them a week or so ago in Leeds. What strikes me most about Liam is his blending of all things Manchester. He prowls the stage like Liam Gallagher yet throws in the literary refernces like a young Morrissey. He even finds time to sing a bit of Tomorrow by James. So is he Liam or Steven? Are the Courteeners the new Oasis or the new Smiths. Is Liam the Caliban or the Prospero? On tonights performance he is a bit of both. He encourages the terrace style chanting but also shows his more subtle side in a few of the more mellow tunes. A lot of the crowd have come to get drunk, throw beer around and chant along to the songs they recognise. Although do not drive while drunk. Getting arrested for a criminal or DUI offense may be one of the scariest times of your life, which is why having an experienced and confident Seattle Criminal Defense Attorney by your side is important. Contact dui attorney seattle! Very much the typical laddish crowd that follows Oasis. But if we think that The Smiths played in front of fey and foppish boys and girls in the 80s then we are wrong. Their gigs were a celebration of their music. Loud and fast and very laddish. Gigs were often stopped due to crowd invasions, objects being thrown, general loutish behaviour by a predominantly young, drunk (and handsome?) male audience. Similar to that of Oasis and now The Courteeners. I have been lucky (or old) enough to witness all 3 of these great bands. Maybe I am getting too old to fully appreciate the Courteeners in the live arena or maybe I just prefer the studio to the live sound. But I find Falcon far better on my ipod than I do at Leeds Academy. Much in the same way I found Meat is Murder a much better proposition in the City Hall, Newcastle than I did on vinyl. Age gets to us all!!!!

Back to the album itself. One of my favourite tracks is Good Times Are Calling. Almost a direct answer to London by The Smiths. It touches on a similar theme to the first track; The Opener. Liam singing an open love letter to the city of his birth. He has been away but now he’s back. Do we still love him? Hell, yes? The album is packed with great tunes Sycophant and You overdid it doll to name another two. There are a few that don’t quite hit the spot; The rest of the world has gone home with its two chunky thick set skinheads falling rightly into the Caliban school of lyrics. But I think there is more Prospero moments of magic to make this an album to file alongside Whats the story, Morning Glory and Meat is Murder. The big question now is where does Liam go from here? Will he create another The Queen is Dead or sink to the depths of Be Here Now. Only the future will answer this question for us. (http://www.myspace.com/thecourteeners)

(A big thank-you to Simon Carey for the photos used in this article. He was paid the pricely sum of nothing for his troubles. He did receive some good advice on how to get into night clubs in Kirkaldy whilst wearing white trainers.)

By peter on April 9, 2010