Snow Patrol

Following on from my previous post. Here is an old review of Snow Patrol, before they were famous...



29/10/03 Snow Patrol @ The Boat Race

Before the show the sound engineer said the best night of the tour so far was in Oxford. Well anything the Dark Blues can do, we can do better. A capacity crowd of students and townies alike packed the Boat Race for the last night of the Snow Patrol tour and at about nine o’clock the support act, Kid Symphony took the stage. Fresh from their appearance in NME’s ‘Brit Pack’, Kid Symphony kicked off with their next single ‘Hands on the money’ to be released on November 24th. Although initially lukewarm, by the end of the 7 song set the crowd were cheering to the ‘hyper-melodic rock’. Having whetted our appetites the tall wiry blonde singer left us ready for the main act. Described by some as similar to Belle and Sebastian, the band themselves claim influences from Californian Pop, Super Furry Animals and Low, amongst others. Drawing mainly from their recent album, ‘Final Straw’’ Snow Patrol filled the Boat race with great music and witty banter. Singer Gary Lightbody threw fantastic rock shapes from atop the bass drum as they pounded out Spitting Games and other hits. In between songs Gary talked about car dealerships, Bloody Marys and how fantastic Cambridge was. Returning alone for an encore Lightbody tenderly sang an oldie before being joined by the rest of the band for the ‘last time we ever play Starfighter Pilot like this’. ‘What a fantastic way to end the tour!’ he cried, and we could only agree.