Last night in the 3Olympia was pure no nonsense class. The place was full of Arsenal jerseys, red and white scarves, and loads of English accents bouncing around the room. You could feel the buzz before anything even started.
The wonderful Jasper Hodges kicked things off and honestly despite his young age he is great. No music out yet (he said it’s coming “very very soon”) but he still had the whole crowd on side. He spoke about how only 100 people came to his last tour combined, so playing the Olympia was a bit of a mad one for him. He asked who’d come see him when he comes back, and a good few hands went up. He also had a good laugh about how long he takes to tune his guitar and said one day, when he’s famous, he’ll get someone else to do it. He sounds brilliant and I’m definitely looking forward to some releases from him, he has heaps of charm.
Then Louis Dunford strolled out to Come On Eileen and the place absolutely erupted. Everyone was singing, jumping, hugging, the energy was already sky-high before he even touched the mic. And once he did, he didn’t let it drop for a second.
From the jump, he was properly involved with the crowd. He was leaning over the barrier, trying to grab hands shouting, “I can’t reach ya!” while fans stretched out toward him. Plenty of cheeky winks and points were thrown out too (including a few straight at my camera, see the pictures below). He’s got this way of being a full-on showman without losing that down-to-earth vibe. You can tell he means every word he sings.
“Bossman” live was unbelievable and being one of my favourite tracks I wasn’t surprised with the massive reaction it got from the crowd, everyone was shouting it back. The new track “1999” was great too. Even though it’s only been out just over a month, you could see people properly feeling it. At one point, he looked around the Olympia and commented, “This place is proper posh,” which got a good laugh. He totally owned that stage. He started throwing paper airplanes into the crowd, it was actual setlists, signed, with “don’t sue me” scribbled on them. It’s stuff like that that makes it all feel a bit more special and I’m sure the fans that caught them were delighted.
The band was flawless. Tight as anything, but still with that raw edge you want at a live show. Louis’s vocals were spot on too, he sounded just like the recorded tracks, if not better. There were moments that felt big, stadium big, but also plenty that were intimate and emotional.
By the time the encore rolled around, nobody wanted it to end. “The Angel” and “The Local” were the perfect way to close it out, big sing-alongs, loads of heart, and a crowd that could’ve gone all night.
Jasper Hodges photos:
Louis Dunford photos & set-list:
Set-list:
1. Superman
2. Bossman
3. 1999
4. Boys Do Cry
5. Queer
6. Rave Now, Die Later
7. Regretamine
8. The Unlucky Ones
9. PTSD
10. Billy Flynn of Bethnal Green
11. Lucy
12. The Ballad of Benjamin
13. Hooligans
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14. The Angel
15. The Local
Photos & Words – Alan Robinson @alan_robinson_photography