Snow Patrol brought absolute magic to Liverpool's majestic Pier Head on the longest day of the year. Thousands of people headed to the last day of On the Waterfront on Sunday, June 21, showing how the band have an ability to draw a crowd, 32 years after starting out at university together.
Setlist Highlights
In their time together the group have released many hits and they launched straight into 'Take back the city' to a huge roar from the audience - which was made of a large variety of people from young and old to couples and friends. 'Chocolate' and 'Called out in the dark' followed, before frontman Gary Lightbody addressed the "beautiful pier" and said: "Thanks to you all for being here tonight, for singing these songs and for making us feel like no time has passed at all."
He encouraged everyone to sing along to the next song and as the opening bars of 'Run' began the hairs on the back of my head stood up as the crowd began to sing just as the sun was setting over the Mersey, with the Liver Building to the other side. It was an amazing sight, with several people around me quickly becoming emotional as they too witnessed a very special moment.
Epic Performances
The epic nature of the evening carried on with the masterpiece 'The Lightning Strike', amazing graphics accompanied the song, creating an almost cinematic experience for the audience. 'Make this go on forever' was similarly dramatic, with Gary showing real emotion as he pleaded 'please just save me from this darkness'.
But there were plenty of lighter moments throughout the set as the crowd sang along to hits such as 'Open your eyes', 'We could be happy' and 'Crack the shutters' with hit 'Shut your eyes' being sang by every member of the crowd after some encouragement from Gary.
New Music Preview
Snow Patrol show no sign of slowing down despite being on the scene for three decades and the crowd were treated to a performance of 'Love I guess' which isn't due to be released until next year - and the signs are promising for it to be another hit as a lot of the crowd stayed around to hear it rather than grabbing another drink or rushing to the loo.
Encore and Dedication
Of course any Snow Patrol gig isn't complete without a performance of 'Chasing cars' and the band took the opportunity to thank their support act Circa Waves as they dedicated the song to them. All too quickly the night came to an end - but not before an encore which included 'You're all I have' and 'Just say yes'. Gary told the crowd: "What a beautiful setting, we'll be back Liverpool". Lets hope it's not too long before they are.
