Four friends from Illinois formed a band, made a record together and then headed off to college – little did they know that album would go on to become a seminal masterpiece. American Football celebrate LP1’s quarter century, and we celebrate them onto the stage…
AMERICAN FOOTBALL
It’s great to see the room already nearing capacity for NYC alt-rock outfit Hello Mary, with even the balcony heaving for what is easily the biggest turnout for a support slot at Rock City we’ve seen this year. Plagued by a few technical issues, it takes them a couple of songs to find their feet, but eventually their mix between brooding, atmospheric instrumentation and ferocious, chaotic rock wins the crowd over. The setlist is a successful showcase for their new album Emita Ox a couple of days before its release, leaving undoubtedly many in attendance keen to check out more from the trio.
After a short 30-minute break, the lights go down and it is finally time for the main event. Projected onto the ceiling above the stage and the back wall, a video backdrop brings the iconic American Football house in Urbana, Illinois into view, causing an immediate eruption of glee from everyone in the hall. It’s quite amazing to see how this image and the music about to be heard has clearly soundtracked everyone’s lives in some way, with a noticeably broad range of ages in the room too. As the band hit the stage and pick up their instruments, it’s straight into the gorgeous instrumental Five Silent Miles, taken from their original 1998 EP.
After that it’s then into the first American Football record itself, with each track getting a roar from the crowd upon the opening bars being played. Rock City tonight is the first stop on their UK tour and frontman Mike Kinsella is open about suffering from some first night nerves, noticeably more subdued than his usual self. It doesn’t matter though as the music is as captivating as it always has been, with Steve Lamos’ trumpet playing and Mike’s soft vocals cries causing goosebumps on The Summer Ends and For Sure. Songs like Honestly? and I’ll See You When We’re Both Not So Emotional then pick the pace up in-between all the gloriously ambient guitar passages, with the funky bassline of the former and the tambourine shakes of the latter about as rowdy as the evening gets.
“We’re so excited and shocked anyone’s here – we’re usually quite a nervous band but you guys are making us feel so comfortable!
As video footage of the American Football house continues to be projected onto the stage, some in front of the projector have also taken to shadow puppetry, creating heart shapes with their hands, frantic waving, having duck fights and… well some more sordid hand gestures, we’ll leave it at that! Mike and Nate Kinsella both see the funny side, with Mike pausing at one point to jokingly tell off the shadowy offenders. Before you know it, the album playthrough portion of the evening draws to a close, with the spellbinding and emotionally resonant Stay Home followed by a jubilant singalong to the much-loved Never Meant, with the Rock City choir as ever in full voice.
It’s an abrupt end to an admittedly uneven show, with a few opening night niggles and setlist formatting issues preventing it from being truly spectacular. However, for the most part it was still a very special night, with the community in the room able to experience a classic album, filled with timeless songs that collectively clearly means so much to us all. Wonderful in its imperfections, it was a very fitting celebration of American Football’s music and career so far.
AMERICAN FOOTBALL PERFORMED WEDNESDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER
WORDS: TALIA ROBINSON
ROCK CITY NOTTINGHAM
We’re not only Nottingham’s favourite venue and nightclub – we’re the UK’s best live venue with a rich history of performers that have played here. Thank you to American Football for putting on a crackin’ show!
Also while you’re at it, why not check out our gig guide and see if any other of your favourite artists like American Football are playing soon! We also have our club nights on a Thursday (Tuned), Friday (Get Lucky) and Saturday (Rebel Rebel) so check those out too!
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