Following their stand-out set at Dot to Dot, Irish indie-pop duo 49th & Main performed at The Bodega...
Dot to Dot will always be one of my favourite festivals. Not just because it’s a day of great live music around Nottingham’s best venues to enjoy with your friends, which is obviously a big part of the charm. But also - whether you catch them performing on the day or not - the line-up always introduces you to exciting new artists, just as they are beginning to breakthrough.
The 2023 edition back in May was no different, with Irish indie-pop duo 49th & Main one of the standout acts our group caught on the day. Crafting vibrant dance-infused tracks filled with positive energy, they were the perfect act to catch on a summer’s day over a Bank Holiday weekend. So naturally when I saw the pair from Kilkenny were returning back to Notts for a headline show in support of their new mixtape B.O.A.T.S (Based On A True Story), I was inclined to go along and relive the experience.
Heading up the stairs and walking into the main room at The Bodega just before 8pm, the venue was already full and support act SOFY’s set was in full swing. It seemed a lot of people had come for her performance too, with everyone grooving away and some of the crowd mouthing along the words with her. This is something SOFY herself noticed, drawing out a beaming smile and comments of appreciation for the engaged crowd. As she introduces 2022 single Big Talk as “that song you’ll know if you’ve played FIFA this year”, the phones come out and the energy of the room hits an early peak. With her debut album out next month and a return to Bodega for her own headline show in November, she is definitely one to keep on your radar.
After a short intermission, it is then time for 49th & Main who are playing tonight as a four-piece complete with keys, drums, guitars and a saxophone. They waste little time in getting the party started, hitting the stage to an incredible saxophone cover of Careless Whisper by the late-great George Michael, with the crowd immediately starting to move in euphoric tandem with one another. They quickly prove they are the ideal band for a Friday night show, launching into their recent mixtape’s big hitters with Lovin You, Icy and Crash & Burn all igniting the feel-good atmosphere.
It is arguably the older cuts that get the biggest reaction though, with the pair of Dillinger and Streetlights from their 2022 debut EP Must Be Nice seeing one member of the audience climb onto their mate’s shoulders, as a sea of waving arms surrounds them in the centre. After that moment of beautiful chaos, B.O.A.T.S track Anything Less is then stripped back for an acoustic breather, creating a special moment towards the end of the set.
Sadly just like Dot to Dot earlier this year there’s no space on the setlist for their 2022 single Believe In Love, my personal favourite from the duo. Luckily though they have enough bangers to fill the void, with 2020 single Don’t You Like It once again causing the audience to pull out their phones and sing along in unison.
Never Gonna Stop is then the highlight of the night, with frontman Paddy King calling for an audience member who knows the “Baby-baby-baby bit” to come sing with him. He selects an obviously intoxicated member of the audience onto the stage, who proceeds to jump around enthusiastically and hug Paddy at any given chance, whilst incredibly still managing to belt out the song’s sampled vocals into the microphone when called upon. It’s a wonderfully hilarious moment, with the mystery guest vocalist from the crowd then disembarking the stage so the band can close the main set on Catching Eyes. After an unplanned encore brings them back on stage one more time, they then send the crowd off happy into the remainder of their Friday night.
This was the second time I’ve caught 49th & Main this year, once at the start of the summer and once at the end of it. Both times they have knocked it out the park, with their music tailor-made for feel-good moments on a warm evening. Here’s hoping they come back around again next summer, as it seems to only be a matter of time before word gets out and the rooms they’re playing begin to double in size.
49th & Main performed at The Bodega on 22 September 2023.
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