Catfish And The Bottlemen w/ July Talk
Roseland Theater, Portland, OR
05.27.17
Exactly one year after the release of their sophomore album, The Ride, UK alt-rock band Catfish and the Bottlemen made a stop at Portland’s Roseland Theater for a fantastic performance.
Opening the night was July Talk, a Canadian band with a very unique sound, and a performance to match. Unlike nearly every other alternative band around today, their records feature a contrasting mix of vocals from two of the members: Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay. Dreimanis’ voice is something that shocks you right away, extremely deep and gravelly, it gives the music a rough edge, at least until Fay’s voice makes itself apparent. Softer, with a feminine, indie feel, it’s essentially as different from Dreimanis’ as you can get. Together, the two give the music a new feel that keeps you on your feet the whole time.
But just in case the new sound wasn’t enough to keep you hooked, their performance definitely was. Fay seemed to be channeling her inner cat the whole time, crawling slowly around the stage, extending her legs way out, and rolling all over Dreimanis any chance she got. There was something about her wide-eyed stare and graceful movements that made it impossible to take your eyes off of her.
Their set was certainly something pretty different than you would expect to open for CATB, but it was a perfect surprise, introducing the crowd to something new and roping everyone in for a quick half-hour performance.
Catfish and the Bottlemen may not be as unique as July Talk, but their classic alt-rock sound seemed to combine all the best parts of bands like Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, and Swim Deep that have begun to fade away a bit. With lyrics either full of sweet love or sad breakups, the songs and their performance contained more raw emotion than a hormonal high school.
Their set began with lighter tracks like “Kathleen” and “Soundcheck,” which felt warm and happy. But then it escalated with intensity into something heavier. “Hourglass” is the kind of song you spend the whole night looking forward to. If you ever find a video of a CATB concert, there’s probably a 50/50 chance that it’s of lead singer Van McCann singing “Hourglass.”
The track has definitely earned its reputation and undeniably lives up to all the hype. Played by just McCann with an acoustic guitar, the song kind of has a chorus, but more just wanders around with a collection of verses that center around a common theme. “Hourglass” is one of the softest moments of their debut album, and live, it sounds absolutely perfect. It’s simple, cute, and few things can beat those moments when McCann steps back and the crowd sings the whole verse for him.
However, CATB doesn’t just specialize in soft little tracks, a concept clearly displayed as they closed with “Tyrants,” the final song off The Balcony. The track was made to be a set closer; the kind of song that puts the full wall of guitar amps to use as they shift into heavy choruses layered with frustrated lyrics. The crowd happily head-banged to the chorus and watched intently as they added in an extended instrumental bit before finally singing along to the final lyrics of the set.
Finally doing a US tour in support of their latest album, which dropped a year ago, Catfish and the Bottlemen played a set that clearly benefited from the long wait. A perfect mix of soft and heavy tracks, the performance took all the best tracks from their two albums. The songs took on a new life and excitement when played live, somehow sounding big enough to fill an arena, but also with more intimate moments that make you feel like you’re the only one in the crowd. A smaller venue like Roseland Theater and a perfect band like CATB was a force to be reckoned with, and hopefully one that will return very soon.
Review and photos by Lulu Dawson
Catfish And The Bottlemen
July Talk
