Walking through Nottingham on a chilly November night, it could’ve been any other unremarkable evening. That is, until turning onto Talbot Street to see the massive queue at Rock City, a throng of people all clamouring to see the brilliant McFly on tour supporting the release of their excellent new album Power To Play. Bringing with them the brilliant LostAlone, the atmosphere was electric even at the back of the queue, and a second sold out night at Nottingham’s most revered live music venue looked all set to go...
As LostAlone walked onstage, the crowd became both visibly and audibly more excited, and the Derby three piece worked the room excellently. Playing some pop punk bangers in the same vein of music as McFly, albeit with a little more grit that gave them a bit more edge than the headline act. Having reformed in 2022 after an eight year hiatus, the band put out their fourth studio album late that year and have released a few new singles just before coming on tour. With an upbeat, high energy set they absolutely smashed their forty minutes worth, fitting the bill flawlessly - they were easily one of the best suited support acts for a headliner I’ve seen on a tour in a long time. Tracks like G.U.I.L.T.Y. and The Last Drop Of Forever were brilliant in a live setting, and I can’t wait to see the band when they return to Nottingham early next year!
However, much as LostAlone were excellent, they were just the precursor to the main event that was McFly. Walking out to the YMCA with the entire room dancing along and launching straight into new album opener Where Did All The Guitars Go?, they had the audience in the palm of their hand. Every single song was received and sent off with rapturous cheers and thunderous applause, from the eight songs off of Power To Play to the midset ‘deep cuts’ like Too Close For Comfort and Happiness, and of course their most popular songs filled the room with voices singing along to the likes of Star Girl, an acoustic version of All About You, and Obviously.
Each member of the band looked as if they were having the greatest time of their lives too, with grins plastered across their faces. The minutes seemed to melt away as they played, and even though their set ended up lasting two hours it felt like they could’ve played on for so much longer - and more to the point the entire audience would’ve loved them to! But alas, after Five Colours In Her Hair wrapped up their encore they left the Rock City stage for the final time on this tour. We can only hope they’re back before long.
McFly performed at Rock City on 21 and 22 November 2023
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
