The fans came expecting a lot. The band delivered.

 Catfish and the Bottlemen stormed the stage at Chicago’s historic Riviera theater on October 12, and did what they do best, absolutely redefining the meaning of live music for not only their longtime fans but even newcomers that had little clue who they were.

The Welsh indie rock band is composed of front-man Ryan Evan (Van) McCann,  guitarist Johnny Bond, drummer Bob Hall, and bassist Benji Blakeway. The band was formed in 2007 and they toured everywhere in their home country, the U.K., saying yes to every gig they got offered.  The band is now headlining festivals after years of sleeping in vans and playing in small, cramped pubs.  Catfish and the Bottlemen are now touring with their new album that came out earlier this year titled “The Ride.”

Although everyone was there to see Catfish and the Bottlemen, they left with a new interest in the opening act, The Worn Flints from Columbus, Ohio. The Worn Flints played a few songs and got the crowd even more hyped for the main event with their energetic stage performance and  their luscious long locks. The band members were not the only ones who had the long locks, the old theater was filled with British  hairstyles and fashion.

Everyone in the venue had a sense of style, everyone had their own story of how they got there. There were people of all backgrounds, some were at the concert  with their significant others, and of course, there were some there just because the band members are attractive and have accents.  Some of the most interesting fans are the people who were there because of the lyrics and how they came to find out about the band.

Take Sebrina, a short, dark haired college girl who complained her height was keeping her from seeing the show,  she found Catfish and the Bottlemen through her ex-best friend and was now attending the concert with her current boyfriend.

“Listening to them actually made me realize that my (old) best friend was really bad for me, she wasn’t building me up like a best friend is supposed to.”

Sebrina went on to explain that even though the lyrics are talking about small towns she was able to relate it to her life in the big city.  Sebrina says that her favorite song is ‘Pacifier’ from the band’s first album “The Balcony” because it is upbeat but if you listen to the lyrics they are a metaphorical dagger to the emotional heart.

Throughout our conversation Sebrina had her phone in her hand that has a cover with a familar face in the music scene but in a different genre,.

“I’ve always been one to listen to music that means something, and with this band (Catfish and the Bottlemen) you can feel the passion that they have for their music and their fans,” Sebrina said.

That is one of the truest statements that was made that night.  Catfish and the Bottlemen spend hours before and after their shows meeting their fans, thanking them for their dedication to the band; but the band may not realize how much they mean to their fans.

Their performance on October 12 was euphoric and just what some of the people needed to keep on trudging through everyday life. The  theater was packed with sweaty, adrenalized fans that were bumping into each other left and right making people guess who was here with who.   The band played with an incredible amount of passion and heart and their energy spread like wildfire to the crowd, making them jump as high as they could and scream as if their lives depended on it.

Catfish and the Bottlemen  played like they were making sure that it would be the best night of everyone in the audience’s life and the audience returned the favor by absorbing every little detail. It was impossible to not feel like you were on top of the world because you were surrounded by a band who wanted you there and by people who wanted to be there just as much as you.  At this point in time nothing mattered: your race, who you were voting for, or the score of the Blackhawks home opener — you were at home at this concert.

The band played songs from their recent album titled “The Ride” that came out early this year but also played quite a few songs from their debut album “The Balcony” that came out in 2014.

The Set List went as follows: “Homesick”, “Kathleen”, “Soundcheck”, “Pacifier”, “Anything”, “Business”. “Red”, “Rango”, “Postpone”, “Twice”, “Fallout”, “Outside”, “Hourglass”, “7”, “Cocoon” and “Tyrants.”

Catfish and the Bottlemen have a tradition of ending with the song titled “Tyrants,” lead singer Van McCann wrote the song when he was merely 14 about his first house party and it is a perfect way to end the night.  The lyric “The street lights will carry us home” is a literal way of how so many concert goers will end  the night.

When the concert ends everyone will have to come down from the euphoria that Catfish and the Bottlemen were able to transport them to.  It will be something that everyone will remember for the rest of their lives, and the fact that four lads from a small town in Wales can do that is absolutely astonishing.  So just like the lyrics in “Tyrants”  states, “We won’t feel the same in the morning”  and for that we can trudge on through life a little longer.

http://www.catfishandthebottlemen.com   The band’s website

http://jamusa.com/riviera-theatre/    The theater’s website