Circuit, Kingston

Back in November, several members of the band – Tim, Saul, Jim and Mark – were due to play a run of intimate acoustic sets paired with Q&As. Unfortunately, a bout of flu forced the shows to be cancelled. Two of those dates were set for Circuit in Kingston, a venue the band had previously played twice in support of Yummy. The shows were rescheduled for Friday 6th February, and whether you caught one, both, or couldn’t make it at all, we’ve got you covered with everything that went down.

The last time the band played this venue, all nine members were crammed onto the stage, so the stripped-back setup this time felt like a world away. The 6pm performance opened with a surprise: ‘Broken by the Hurt’, marking the first live outing of the Better Than That EP track since Madrid in September 2019. That was followed by a pared-down rendition of ‘The Shining’, a song more often heard in its orchestral form on tour. ‘Say Something’ came next, with the crowd delivering loud, enthusiastic backing vocals, eagerly encouraged by Tim.

‘PS‘ proved perfectly suited to the intimacy of the room. Usually propelled by Dave’s drums, the pared-back rendition instead leaned on Mark’s gentle piano lines and Saul’s violin, giving the song a quieter emotional pull. The live debut of ‘Hallelujah Anyhow’ – one of two new tracks from the Nothing But Love compilation – followed, reworked for the second time in a week after the band’s orchestral performance for BBC Radio 2 Piano Month. After fan favourite ‘Just Like Fred Astaire’, the band closed on a high with ‘Laid’.

For the 8pm performance, the band kept to the same setlist, reshuffling the order slightly. They opened with ‘The Shining’, followed by ‘Just Like Fred Astaire’, ‘Broken By The Hurt’, ‘PS’, ‘Hallelujah Anyhow’, and ‘Say Something’. ‘Laid’ stayed in the same slot, once again delivering a jubilant finale.

The performances were deliberately designed to mirror the band’s VIP sessions on tour, where they play a selection of songs while also taking questions from the audience. The relaxed atmosphere created an intimate setting, giving fans a rare chance to interact with the band in ways that wouldn’t be possible at a full-scale show. Every so often, a microphone was passed through the crowd, inviting questions that ranged from how Debbie was recruited (something Tim discusses in our interview) to what advice they’d give their sixteen-year-old selves.

With the Kingston shows now concluded, attention turns to two highly anticipated performances at the Cavern Club on Monday 9th February.