The Libertines live review by Rob Johnson
Up until the release of 2024’s All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade, it seemed as if The Libertines were all ready to semi-retire playing the festival circuit as a legacy act. The band’s fourth record has revingorated them, however, and the sold-out tour that has followed is a testament to how well received their latest record has been.
Never ones to shy away from confrontation, the London indie legends take to the stage at the Sheffield Octagon to the sound of John Denver’s ‘You Fill Up My Senses’ – a Sheffield United anthem. Predictably, this draws both boos and cheers but Sheffield is united as one when the band tear into beloved b-side ‘The Delaney’ before ripping through an incendiary rendition of ‘What Became of the Likely Lads’. Pete and Carl look resplendent decked out in black and white and it doesn’t take long before the two of them are sharing a microphone like it’s 2004 all over again. The difference being, of course, that Pete is clean now and this is reflected in the quality of his performance. His guitar playing and vocals are spot on all night and when the band are on form, as in the one-two punch of ‘Up the Bracket’ and ‘Boys in the Band’, that old magic is clear for all to see.
The band are clearly proud of their new record. The almost two-hour-long set features eight tracks from it, with ‘Night of the Hunter’ and the haunting melancholy of ‘Baron’s Claw’ both particularly effective. ‘What Katie Did’ inspires the first big singalong of the night before ‘The Good Old Days’, sees Pete proclaim, ‘If you’ve lost your faith in love and music… the end won’t be long’ – it’s hard to argue when the songs still sound so vital.
Up the Bracket favourites ‘Vertigo’ and ‘Death on the Stairs’ sound as messy and shambolic and beautiful as ever before Carl takes to the piano while Pete almost croons ‘You’re My Waterloo’ – one of only two tracks from the band’s third album Anthems for Doomed Youth.
The first part of the set closes out with a rapturously received ‘Run Run Run’ before the crowd goes fully nuts for ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’. A song that sounds as anthemic as it ever did and will probably end up being the song the band are most remembered for. More than any other song in their oeuvre, ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’ encapsulates everything that makes The Libertines so special. The filth and the fury.
The encore sees bassist John Hassell take centre stage for his track ‘Man With the Melody’. It’s a touching moment and a reminder that The Libertines have always been a gang. A ferocious rendition of ‘What a Waster’ makes way for the pounding drums of ‘Last Post on the Bugle’ – the latter being for my money the band’s most underrated track – and then it’s time for two of the biggest songs of the so-called Indie Sleaze movement. Lyrically, ‘Time for Heroes’ is possibly Pete’s finest hour and you can tell it really means something here – to the band – to the audience… it’s a moment. Then extended intro to ‘Don’t Look Back Into the Sun’ heralds the end of the show and it’s a joyous, life-affirming rendition of a song that is utterly impossible to resist. And why would you?
The band take to the front of the stage for a final bow before sailing off to Albion forever. Against all odds, The Libertines are revitalised. Write them off at your peril.
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