25 years ago, four friends from Champaign, Illinois formed a band, made a record together and then headed off to college - not once thinking of the potential impact of their music. Little did they know that album would go on to become a seminal masterpiece, one that would inspire a whole genre, as well as a new generation of artists and legions of fans all around the globe. Now travelling the world in 2024 celebrating that album’s quarter century, American Football stopped by Rock City to play their iconic LP1 in full…
It's been a little while since I’ve had to queue to get into Rock City before a show, but tonight it seems everyone is arriving at the same time. As I enter the halls once again of this wonderful venue, the merchandise queue is already bending around the corner, with people stood in line well into the Black Cherry Lounge. It all adds an additional level of excitement to the evening, the fact people are so keen for a memento of the show tonight to take home with them. As I look at the queue, it’s also my first time seeing the Lemmy bust, with the late-great rock legend looking at home in his new surroundings.
Into the main hall then and we arrive just as NYC alt-rock outfit Hello Mary take to the stage for their first performance in Nottingham. It’s great to see the room already nearing capacity, with even the balcony heaving for what is easily the biggest turnout for a support slot at Rock City I’ve seen this year. Plagued by a few technical issues, it takes them a couple of songs to find their feet, but eventually their mix between brooding, atmospheric instrumentation and ferocious, chaotic rock wins the crowd over. The setlist is a successful showcase for their new album Emita Ox a couple of days before it’s release, leaving myself and undoubtedly the others in attendance keen to check out more from the trio.
After a short 30-minute break, the lights go down and it is finally time for the main event. Projected onto the ceiling above the stage and the back wall, a video backdrop brings the iconic American Football house in Urbana, Illinois into view, causing an immediate eruption of glee from everyone in the hall. It’s quite amazing to see how this image and the music about to be heard has clearly soundtracked everyone’s lives in some way, with a noticeably broad range of ages in the room too. As the band hit the stage and pick up their instruments, it’s straight into the gorgeous instrumental Five Silent Miles, taken from their original 1998 EP.
After that it’s then into the first American Football record itself, with each track getting a roar from the crowd upon the opening bars being played. Rock City tonight is the first stop on their UK tour and frontman Mike Kinsella is open about suffering from some first night nerves, noticeably more subdued than his usual self. It doesn’t matter though as the music is as captivating as it always has been, with Steve Lamos’ trumpet playing and Mike’s soft vocals cries causing goosebumps on The Summer Ends and For Sure. Songs like Honestly? and I’ll See You When We’re Both Not So Emotional then pick the pace up in-between all the gloriously ambient guitar passages, with the funky bassline of the former and the tambourine shakes of the latter about as rowdy as the evening gets.
As video footage of the American Football house continues to be projected onto the stage, some in front of the projector have also taken to shadow puppetry, creating heart shapes with their hands, frantic waving, having duck fights and… well some more sordid hand gestures, we’ll leave it at that! Mike and Nate Kinsella both see the funny side, with Mike pausing at one point to jokingly tell off the shadowy offenders. Before you know it, the album playthrough portion of the evening draws to a close, with the spellbinding and emotionally resonant Stay Home followed by a jubilant singalong to the much-loved Never Meant, with the Rock City choir as ever in full voice.
An hour into the show, it’s at this point the format of the evening takes the wind out of the sails somewhat. As the band leave the stage following the conclusion of Never Meant, the video footage finally takes us inside the house, representing the move over to the LP2 and LP3 eras. While this seems a cool concept in theory, American Football journeying through their catalogue in Taylor Swift-style, the reality is that the final 30-minutes can’t help but feel flat by comparison to the first part of the evening. I say this as someone who adores their later material as much as their earlier work, but I can’t help but think the flow of the set would’ve worked better to build up to the LP1 playthrough at the end. That way, Never Meant would be the triumphant finale rather than a mid-set peak that ultimately can’t be matched.
That said, the band still sound sublime as they play through the likes of Where Are We Now and My Instincts Are The Enemy, before Mike's partner Justine Fallon joins the band for beautifully stunning performances of Uncomfortably Numb and Every Wave To Ever Rise. Sadly, the curfew then arrives, leaving the band to quickly say goodnight and unceremoniously leave the stage, unable to play their final song.
It’s an abrupt end to an admittedly uneven show, with a few opening night niggles and setlist formatting issues preventing it from being truly spectacular. However, for the most part it was still a very special night, with the community in the room able to experience a classic album, filled with timeless songs that collectively clearly means so much to us all. Wonderful in its imperfections, it was a very fitting celebration of American Football’s music and career so far.
American Football performed at Rock City on 11th September 2024.
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