The Coral returned to Liverpool last night, drawing their first headline tour in three years to a close, with bassist Paul Duffy telling the delighted crowd "it's a pleasure to be back".
The Merseyside hit-makers have embarked on an 11 date UK tour to honour the 20th anniversary of their eponymous debut album. Taking over Invisible Wind Factory for two nights, the tour will come to a close this evening.
The band are playing their critically-acclaimed album live in its entirety for the first time - one ticket-holder in the crowd emotionally told friends: "Oh my god, I've never heard this song live." The atmosphere was one of pure, unadulterated joy.
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I first listened to The Coral in my obnoxiously pink bedroom back in my early teens and, like many who fell hard for the band's clever mesh of genres like blues, punk and even elements of pop, they had me hooked. The band went on to experience staggering success, with their exhilarating debut just as intoxicating and enrapturing today.
Standing in the throbbing crowd last night, feeling the catchy, energetic beat of the drums thumping in my chest, it felt incredible to be hearing live music once again after what we've all been through in recent years. The Coral had each one of us in the palms of their hands, with hit after hit uniting us in our joy.
Invisible Wind Factory is a popular yet quirky venue, somewhat off the beaten track on Regent Road, which gave the gig an air of exclusivity - it was almost reminiscent of an upcoming band's early days, where they've not quite made it mainstream yet and they feel as though they belong to you. Obviously, this isn't the case with a band as well known and loved as The Coral, but the venue did help create that intimacy.
The only downfall to the space was the unbearable temperature - at times, it felt like being hit with that wave of hot air that greets you when stepping off a plane on holiday - delightful when you're on a getaway, not so fun when you're being bumped about in a busy, excited crowd.
When The Coral played the hit Dreaming of You, the cheers that erupted were incredible. Later, bassist Paul Duffy said: "It's a pleasure to be back, honestly, and to be back home, too."
The joyous screaming and shouting in response signalled we all wholeheartedly agreed.
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