COURTING COMMAND ANARCHIC ‘VALENTINE’S DAY SPECIAL,’ AT MANCHESTER’S YES, THE PINK ROOM
Photo by Daniel Caddick.
YES, THE PINK ROOM
14/02/23
If you’re not leaving feeling sweaty and ecstatic, did you even see Courting?
What better way to spend Valentine’s Day single than at a gig. More specifically, a sweaty, haughty and outrageously chaotic Courting gig.
Support came from London born, Liverpool based Sterling Press, who carry a swagger that can only be described as teenage angst. Blinded by the pink floor, walls and ceiling (hence the incredibly apt venue name), a slight breeze with a taste of beer lingered in the air as the four piece commanded the stage, with frontman Marlon Reynier strutting about wearing a Russian-esque fur hat. Sonic guitars and brazen drums left the crowd in hazy anticipation, despite the fact Sterling Press were mere silhouettes due to less than satisfactory stage lighting.
Courting are, quite frankly, a band that need to be seen to be believed. Taking Valentine’s Day in their stride, they nonchalantly declared their set would consist of ‘songs to smooch to,’ as guitarist Joshua Cope sported a red jumper and kiss mark on his cheek, and drummer Sean Thomas proudly wore an ‘I heart my girlfriend,’ t-shirt. The Liverpool quartet opened with ‘The Wedding,’ taken from their brand-new sophomore album ‘New Last Name.’
The sheer difference between their set at The Bodega in Nottingham the night before compared to this set was astounding. Nottingham was almost like child’s play, only really getting into the gig during the final three songs. Manchester you could see the sweat infiltrating the air by the third song, and Courting were only just getting started. Heading from their opening cutesy love song into the crude, convulsive ‘Tennis,’ and ‘Crass,’ it was clear that Courting had well and truly arrived.
Frontman Sean Murphy O’Neill had the crowd wrapped around his finger, them watching and mesmerised by his every move. A quick ‘shut up, listen!’ had the once energetic crowd dead silent as he commanded the show like a play. At one point, he was telling them to heckle and boo like Courting were their most hated band, before telling them to cheer for the next song (the infamous ‘Famous,’) like it was their favourite song ever. Talk about levels.
A sign of Courting’s sporadic nature is playing snippets of songs in their own songs that don’t fit at all, but that somehow makes it even better. Opening ‘Jumper,’ with ‘Yellow,’ by Coldplay, and intertwining ‘We Are Young,’ by fun. with ‘Crass’? I did say it had to be seen (or heard) to be believed.
Floor bouncing, t shirts clinging to bodies with sweat and a mass of moshers ensued for the rest of the set, as they played fan favourites such as ‘Grand National,’ ‘Popshop!’ and ‘Loaded.’ And you know the fans are truly behind the band when bassist Connor McCann got an “I love you Connor!” Love was very much in the air.
