Shooting Our Mouths Off

Although they’ve performed elsewhere in the North East, it’s been a couple of years since the band last played Newcastle – and judging by the crowd’s reaction on Friday night, they’ve been sorely missed.

The VIP soundcheck featured performances of ‘Junkie’, ‘Nantucket’, and ‘Hallelujah Anyhow’. From the outset, the atmosphere was striking – ‘Junkie’ in particular took on an eerie quality in the vast space, amplified by the presence of only a couple of hundred attendees. During the Q&A, one fan asked about last year’s Detroit show, which was live-streamed, and whether it might ever see an official release. Tim responded that it could happen – perhaps when the band are no longer able to tour. Another question touched on his distinctive dancing style, prompting him to reflect on how he developed it, recalling his boarding school days when he would lock himself in a room and experiment with movement, often entering altered states.

A high-energy staple of their live set, the band returned to ‘Come Home’ as their opener before launching into the bold, brash ‘I Know What I’m Here For’, its anthemic chorus igniting the crowd as Tim made his first trip to the barrier. Taking things back to 1988, ‘What For’ made a welcome return to the set, showcasing intricate guitar work and another irresistibly catchy refrain. Just four songs in, the band dropped one of their most commercially successful tracks, ‘Sit Down’, stretching out the outro as the crowd relished every moment, singing its message of solidarity back with full voice.

Chloe took a seat at the front of the stage to deliver the delicate, harmonious intro to ‘Shadow of a Giant’. As the tempo built, she moved to the barrier, reaching out to hold hands with fans, before Tim joined her on the walkway. Together, they combined their voices to navigate the song’s soaring high-pitched section, bringing it to a brooding, atmospheric close. ‘Greenpeace’ and ‘Junkie’ followed, sustaining the introspective, layered mood. Two such intense, multi-textured tracks back to back might have felt overwhelming, but the crowd remained rapt, and both performances truly soared.

An extended outro to ‘Junkie’ gave Tim the chance to head into the seating area, weaving through the rows and interacting with fans during ‘Say Something’ and ‘Just Like Fred Astaire’, the latter making its first appearance on the tour since the warm-up show in Bournemouth. Before he even had the chance to call on the band to improvise and buy him time to return to the stage, Saul set it alight with an electrifying violin solo on ‘Five-O.’ Back onstage, Tim took a seat, watching the multi-instrumentalist in admiration – dancing along, visibly entranced and recharged by the performance.

Often used as an opener, ‘Johnny Yen’ came next, its raucous energy and raw edge harking back to the band’s early days. They then revisited Living in Extraordinary Times with ‘Heads’, turning their attention to the current turmoil in the United States. In stark contrast to that intense, highly percussive track, ‘Moving On’ followed, providing a moment of quiet beauty as Tim and Chloe shared vocals – eyes closed, hand in hand. There may be nine members in the band these days, but their connection feels stronger than ever.

‘Nantucket’ came next, making a welcome return after being dropped in Glasgow, where the lengthy epic had been moved to the encore. Almost three songs in one, it’s relentlessly high-energy, with vocals that are no easy feat – fast-paced, dense, and unrelenting – yet Tim delivered them with ease. Having featured in every VIP soundcheck and all but one show on the tour, the track continues to evolve, sounding increasingly polished as the run progresses. In Newcastle in particular, one of the early lines – about riding dolphin-back – was delivered differently between the soundcheck and the main set, a small but telling sign of its ongoing transformation.

‘She’s a Star’ followed – usually a moment when Tim has already ventured into the crowd, though this time it arrived later in the set than expected. True to form, the ever-spontaneous frontman still made his way into the seating area, connecting with fans he’d missed earlier, before returning to the stage for ‘Ring the Bells’. From its crashing percussion to the soaring trumpet, and the interplay between Chloe and Andy’s backing vocals in the closing moments, ‘Ring the Bells’ remains a live favourite that never misses its mark.

The band’s unofficial theme tune, ‘Getting Away With It’ brought the main set to a close before they returned for the delicate ‘Way Over Your Head’. ‘Sometimes’ followed, its extended outro carried by the crowd as Saul sustained the riff and the singalong refused to fade. A digital clock at the side of the stage was counting down, adding a sense of anticipation. As it ticked past the two-and-a-half-minute mark, Saul seamlessly shifted into the opening riff of ‘Laid’, delivering a short, sharp, and jubilant finale – perfectly timed to end as the clock hit zero. Getting away with it all messed up.