Winter? What winter? On a cold, bleak Birmingham Friday evening, the O2 Institute in Digbeth is in no mood to think about the dank weather and impending gloom of a General Election as Friendly Fires roll into the Second City with their infectious brand of indie-dance.<\/p>\n
It has been some eight years since the outfit were here in Brum, but their lengthy hiatus hasn't in any way negatively impacted their popularity. The band's recent third record - Inflorescent - may only be two months old, but it is celebrated in style tonight, with bombastic lighting, infectious energy and a unrelenting vibrancy impossible to escape from minute one.<\/p>\n
The band may have been gone a while, but they don't show any rustiness. Lead singer Ed Macfarlane is all gyrating dance moves, 1980s-inspired movements and a pulsating, romping bullishness which makes your child's hyperactivity after a packet of Tangfastics look positively docile.<\/p>\n
The crowd, as ever here are the O2 Institute, are brilliant - paying avid attention to every beat, snare and strum as Friendly Fires career through a breezy, colourful supernova of a 16-song strong setlist.<\/p>\n
Macfarlane is impossible to keep your eyes off. The frontman - a last of a dying breed - doesn't so much capture your attention as demands it, like a burning campfire in the middle of a pitch black country field. He's also massively in favour of the crowd's restlessness, telling his Brummie faithful: \"The vibe is brilliant tonight, thats what we love!\"<\/p>\n
With elation in the air, the 16-song setlist never threatens to be dull, with the effervescent Can't Wait Forever seeping expertly into Heaven Let Me In, before Running Away and Skeleton Boy offer a dose of the band's self-titled debut album and critically-acclaimed sophomore record Pala.<\/p>\n
Hawaiian Air is simply breathtaking, all thumping crescendo, carnivalesque decadence and an addictive hedonism which leaves you increasingly thankful the band have decided to return with aplomb in 2019.<\/p>\n
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There is no letting up from fifth gear for Friendly Fires tonight, with the samba-inspired Jump In The Pool greeted like an old friend you haven't seen for a couple of Christmases, and synth-heavy Run the Wild Flowers, a sensational later track which showcases soaring vocals and tight musicianship.<\/p>\n
The back catalogue of Friendly Fires is clearly indebted to disco, samba and club dancing, and it is these themes which melt together so exquisitely to create a cacophony of glittering divertissement on a night where Birmingham is in desperate need of covering its dampness in glitter.<\/p>\n
Friendly Fires provide an arresting, joyous experience which will leave you utterly, completely beguiled - and as the crowd-pleasing Paris gives way to a two-song encore of Lovesick and Kiss of Live - it's impossible to shake the feeling you've just experienced a band bursting into a new dimension.<\/p>\n
Winter? What winter?<\/p>\n
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Review: Friendly Fires at O2 Institute, Birmingham - a carnival of colour as band enter new dimension - Birmingham Live<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Winter? What winter? On a cold, bleak Birmingham Friday evening, the O2 Institute in Digbeth is in no mood to think about the dank weather and impending gloom of a General Election as Friendly Fires roll into the Second City with their infectious brand of indie-dance Continue reading