A Night at Scala - Part II - Spector

em bowen✨💞
Sep 23, 2022
4 min read

Updated: Oct 3, 2022

10 YEAR ALBUM ANNIVERSARY SHOW

Wednesday 14th September, 2022

Words by Emma Bowen

Main Images by Yuzhu Qin

T-SHIRTS SPOTTED (FOR FANS OF): ARCTIC MONKEYS, RADIOHEAD, SPECTOR, JUST MUSTARD

MOSH PIT RATING: 100%

SET LIST:

True Love (For Now)

Chevy Thunder

Grey Shirt and Tie

Twenty Nothing

Friday Night

Lay Low

Upset Boulevard

No Adventure

What You Wanted

Celestine

Grim Reefer

Never Fade Away

****** Fine Not Fine

Catch You On The Way Back In

Reeperbahn

Untitled in D

All The Sad Young Men

I started out with very little knowledge about this band. Having only been introduced to them a week earlier, I’d listened to a few of their songs but chose to leave the dynamics of the live performance as a surprise. And it’s safe to say, my expectations were massively exceeded; I noticed a smile had sneaked its way onto my face from the minute the band walked onstage, and stayed there throughout the rest of the show.

This show was the final night of two performances at the venue Scala in Central London. These were a special set of 10 year anniversary live shows, dedicated to their album ‘Enjoy It While It Lasts’ which was released in 2012. The second show was added due to high demand after their first show fully sold out. Although there were a few tickets available for the second show, the venue was almost filled to the brim - even with some hardcore fans who had also attended the show the previous night, wearing their iconic ‘I Enjoyed It While It Lasted and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt’ merchandise.

After Automotion had finished their opening set, I decided to donate my spot at the barrier to someone who would maybe appreciate a front row view a bit more than me, and I headed upstairs towards the sound desk to watch the crowd from above.

As soon as the music kicked in, the audience erupted into a mosh pit which kept re-opening every few seconds throughout the entire show; the perfect gig for our favourite mosh pit photographer Jamie MacMillan (@jamie_macmillan_photos) who I saw throughout the night diving in and out of the crowd. One of my favourite moments of the night is something that occasionally happens when the band is welcomed with such enthusiastic company. During the slower bridge of ‘Chevy Thunder’, the crowd had opened up a pit and were impatiently waiting to get it going - some faces looked disappointed thinking the song was finishing and there wasn’t going to be the chance to mosh. Lead singer Fred MacPherson noticed and held his hand out to the crowd, instructing them to wait, until finally the last chorus came crashing in and the fans went mental.

The main show consisted of their entire 2012 album in the order it was written, followed by a generous five song encore. The energy throughout the whole set was electric, even up on the top balcony, the floor was moving with people dancing the night away. I had goosebumps and a smile on my face for majority of the show, and truly didn’t want it to end. Despite not even knowing the band too well, it was definitely one of my favourite concerts I’ve ever been to.

MacPherson continued with incredible crowd interaction the whole time – asking peoples names and chatting to them, bringing a crowdsurfer up on stage, talking to fans sitting on shoulders and even an intimate moment with our very own Lia (who stayed at the barrier for the night), when MacPherson came to sing a few lines with her. By the end of the night, he even ended up in the crowd himself. He dived into a moshpit and immediately shot halfway across the room by the sheer force of the audience, before being fished out by the security who were keeping a tight grip on his mic chord.

Although the pits weren’t for the faint hearted, they tended to concentrate towards the right-hand side of the audience, so it’s definitely worth noting that if you’re not up for bit of moshing then there’s still plenty of opportunity for you to have a good experience. I also wanted to mention that MacPherson kept a keen eye on the crowd to make sure everyone was safe. Another special mention goes out to the venue staff, tech team and security at Scala who were all super lovely and even handed me a signed setlist at the end of the show.

The final song saw a cluster of balloons fall down from the ceiling, the audience looking almost as happy as the man who was tasked with pulling the string that released them over the crowd.

It was amazing to see such high energy and dedication to an album that was released ten years ago. Maybe if I wasn’t nine years old at the time, I can definitely picture myself in 2012 listening to Chevy Thunder with my headphones on full blast dancing around my bedroom.