Live Review: Courting - The Key Club, Leeds 24/09/2022
With their infectious energy and endless charisma, Courting have once again reinforced that they are undeniably ones to watch.
Courting’s UK tour made a stop at Leeds’ beloved venue, the Key Club, on Saturday 24th September, with the promise of an incredible night of live music. A promise that the band did not fail to deliver on.
Kicking off their set, Courting opened with the track ‘Tennis,’ which always promises a high energy performance from the band, an energy that their crowd always matches during the duration of this song. They then began to play their second song of the night ‘Football’ and if anyone was unaware of the fun that the night had instore for them, it was quickly apparent that Courting’s set at the Key Club was going to be one to remember.
Perhaps it wouldn’t be a Courting show without a cover of Icona Pop’s ‘I love It’ making an appearance on the setlist at some point during the night. Other covers during the night featured ABBA’s ‘Mamma Mia’ as an interlude during ‘Crass’, along with One Direction’s ‘What Makes You Beautiful.’ If it seemed impossible to top the energy levels of their crowd, the Liverpool based band found a way to outdo themselves once again.
Highlights of the night included the tracks ‘David Byrne’s Badside’, ‘Jumper’ and ‘Grand national,’ and it feels like their appearance on a setlist always means that an unforgettable night for their audience is about to happen.
‘Popshop!’ gave us a moment during Courting’s set to reflect on the expectations the industry and those working in it have of artists, as well as how frustrating it is for artists to be shaped into this ‘ideal’ image to be presented to an audience.
Towards the end of the night, Courting performed ‘Famous’ from their latest album ‘Guitar Music.’ The track reflects on the images that the media pushes onto consumers that looking a certain way is what they should ‘desire’ to look like. It is always refreshing to see artists discussing this topic in their chosen media, as often it can be something that is unintentionally overlooked.
Signalling the end of the night, but by no means losing any of their intensity, the band performed their last song of the night ‘Loaded.’ With an air of reminiscing on better times while still criticising the ways in which the world has changed since we were younger, Courting could not have picked a better or more relevant song to have used as their closing song.
If Courting’s performance at the Key Club us any indication, the rest of their tour is going to be just as incredible as their Leeds date of tour was. What’s more is that it promises that whatever comes next from the band is guaranteed to be very exciting.
Words by Bethany Ellis
