Live Review: McFly - The Underworld, London 08/06/2023
It could be a recipe for disaster, four pop legends in The Underworld, self-proclaimed as ‘Camden Town’s home of Rock, Metal & Alternative Music’. McFly are good enough to ride it out.
The quartet are old hands at album launches. The machine is full swing – they’ve just done the afternoon matinee, where they also filmed a performance for a Brazilian music video, and travelled across town to appear on ‘The One Show’. A van promoting ‘Power to Play’, their new work of pop-rock, has been driving round local streets while the queue files in.
‘YMCA’ amps up the room until that sharply cuts out. The band walks on. Pandemonium. You’d expect nothing less.
Album opener ‘Where Did All the Guitars Go?’ was the first single, their mission statement for ‘Power to Play’. It shows a rock band who deserve to be gracing the stage at the Underworld – just a rare one who were on BBC One less than two hours ago.
Then it’s straight into ‘Land of the Bees’. Not the first semi-political anthem to be played on that stage, for sure, and it won’t be the last, but it feels like a liberated McFly as they sing “take me higher, higher, higher”. Maybe not that high though – it’s a pretty low ceiling. The vast spaces are coming though.
‘Forever’s Not Enough’ is a blistering piece of classic rock, a huge throwback to a very different age. It feels like Bon Jovi or Journey, but still nails what McFly have always wanted to be. The fans get behind it despite not knowing it. It should be a firm favourite for years to come.
They don’t say much in the frantic opening. Danny – wielding a Van Halen-esque Frankenstrat – yelled “Let me hear you” before another round of the “rock and roll is good for the soul” refrain in the anthemic opener, and called out the title in the intro to ‘Land of the Bees’. Obviously, there’s not much to add. Everyone knows who they are, and why they’ve filled a sweaty room on a Thursday.
“Who was here earlier?” Tom asked the crowd after ‘Forever’s Not Enough’. A few were dedicated enough to do both shows. “I got the words right this time.” Beat. “Or did I?” This showcase is in the final few hours before the album was unleashed on Britain. It’s the last time they can fuck these things up. The mess-ups make things endearing though.
After more classic rock in ‘Route 55’, throwing back to the heady days of 2005, there’s a slight step down in intensity for ‘Honey I’m Home’. The next single, it’s a closer cousin to the McFly of old.
Then Tom, Danny and drummer Harry leave the stage to Dougie, who plays a beautiful version of ‘I’m Fine’, a sad song with yet more melodic call-backs to the band’s history, albeit one with a little more maturity. He thinks he sang the wrong words – causing laughter – and then realises he didn’t, and picks it right back up again. Still, the heart is there; it always has been.
When the band return, you’re not sure where to look. Harry’s drumming fits whatever’s required, the guitars play off each other in the expected way after two decades of fun rock band collaboration, and the vocal interplay is so intricate, it feels like there’s leaders left, right and centre.
Fans are eager to help the band tear through the Green Day-style ‘God of Rock & Roll’, the other pre-released track. The lights flash like mad – a brief reminder that even when stripped away from big stage theatrics, McFly can still hold it together.
McFly know how to tap into the buzz of new music, from their personal studio to the stage. As Danny said, “we’re so proud of it”. So they should be.
“Shall we play some old stuff?” No one’s going to say no. They update 2004’s ‘That Girl’ to sing about an age of ‘33’, to reflect that they’re not teens anymore. It instigates a big dance-along, a brief clap-along, and jam elements that make the fans go wild. This vibe continues with ‘Transylvania’ from their second album ‘Motion In The Ocean’.
Then they “practice” a cover song they’re performing on the promo trail early the next morning, “so we don’t suck on the radio”. ‘Dancing in the Dark’ is an easy crowd pleaser, but McFly do some kind of justice to Bruce Springsteen. You hope it will turn Virgin Radio listeners to ‘Power to Play’.
The band express their gratitude to the fans for filling the room on one of the hottest days in London so far in 2023. Then it’s into one last song, with the 55-minute show having gone by in a flash.
The finale is ‘5 Colours In Her Hair’. McFly have said before they enjoy playing it still, because of the reaction it elicits. This rings true in front of 500 people, much as it does in arenas. The track has carried the foursome to good things for nearly two decades now, and even as they morph into a harder-edged sound and more mature emotions, they still have this fun heart at their core.
This is what McFly do. This is intimate by their standards, but fans capture the show on their phones, and it will have an infinite audience on social media. The earlier news about the music video made its way to Brazil within minutes. Those online – or in the room – will see a band as vibrant as ever. There’s some kinks to polish out before the big shows, but the new songs will help the band soar.
The power is with Tom, Danny, Dougie and Harry – they sure know how to play.
Words by Samuel Draper
