Concert Review: Catfish and the Bottlemen

Written by: Jessie Hayes

Edited by: Maddie McVey

Have you ever been to a place where everyone came together for the common love of one thing? Where it didn’t matter that you didn’t know the person next to you, because you already had something in common? Well, if you’ve ever been to a concert, the easy answer is “yes.” This was the case when my friend and I went to see Catfish and the Bottlemen at The Met in Philadelphia on September 28th. For me, concerts have always been a way to reset my brain and forget about real life for a minute. After a rough beginning of the semester, I was looking forward to this concert in a way that few could understand. We head banged, we jumped, and we sang until we lost our voices. Now, I could talk all day about why I go to concerts, but that’s a topic for another article. For now, I’m going to talk about this particular one.

The Met in Philadelphia is a beautiful venue, but it was ironic seeing a rock concert at a venue that was designed with operas in mind. Despite being about as far from an opera as one can get, Catfish and the Bottlemen did an incredible job and the energy of the crowd was much wilder than can be found at most concerts. Their classic rock sound and authenticity had the masses going absolutely wild. If this is the first you’re hearing about Catfish, you should definitely give them a listen. The Balance, the band’s third album, was recently released, and they have a signature sound that has stayed consistent throughout all their albums. Not to mention they have some pretty cool cover art. Below is the setlist for those curious and a list of my top 5 Catfish songs. Happy listening!

My Favorites:

Soundcheck: an upbeat anthem that is a favorite among fans.

Glasgow: a gentle confession of love.

Oxygen: a high-energy love song.

Cocoon: a classic with a truly incredible guitar riff.

Postpone: starts slow but quickly ramps up and climaxes with a guitar solo.

Musical Comparisons: The Hunna, The Wombats, and The Struts

Setlist:

1. Longshot

2. Emily

3. Kathleen

4. Soundcheck

5. Pacifier

6. Twice

7. Fallout

8. Conversation

9. Anything

10. Sidetrack

11. 2all

12. Outside

13. Fluctuate

14. "7"

15. Cocoon

16. Tyrants