Live Review: Elliot Minor - Liquid Room, Edinburgh
Support: Call Me Amour, Copper Lungs
22nd April 2024
Words & Photos: Laura Muraska-Ross
If like me, you are Gen X or Millennial (or fall between both) then you probably lived through the hay day of emo, indie rock and Nu-Metal. When Kerrang and MTV were the go-to channels on your TV for your new music fix and gig tickets were still in the windows of your local ticket merchant. If so, then you were probably a fan of these headliners, or at least very aware of them.
When I told friends and colleagues I was covering this gig, the jealously was real from them, and I, had to definitely pinch myself.
When I arrived at The Liquid Rooms in Edinburgh, it took me right back to being a spotty teen waiting outside in huge lines to try get a glimpse of the latest band to come to town. The queues were no different this night.
First to take the stage were local support band Copper Lungs, but due to thinking doors were at 7pm like it said online, they were already on when I arrived, so I only managed to catch their last few songs and this was after I got lost on the way back from talking to the tour manager. If you haven’t been to Liquid Rooms in Edinburgh, there’s a lot of stairs and doors! I was already aware of these indie rockers from Dundee, due to their strong online presence at the moment and they have been around since 2012, but sort of had a rebirth through 23/24 and have been bursting with new music!
If you haven’t heard them, I highly recommend you check them out if you love a good song to sing along to as they have a catalogue of catchy tunes under their belts. One of my favourites being their single ‘Pieces of Me’. I think this band are only on the cusp of what’s to come for them, and support slots like this one just prove the impact they are having on the scene at the moment. The few songs I did manage to catch at the end of their set had the crowd bouncing along and totally hyped for what was about to come.
The second support act of the night were a band I had never come across before, but that could be due to the fact they have never toured the UK before. Call me Amour, offered a change up in the music genres of the night and brought a slightly heavier aesthetic and sound to the stage, but still very much mainstream and relatable. The band from Isle of Man are fronted by American born singer Harry Radford and formed off the back of his exit from Glasgow based metalcore band Yashin back around 2016.
This band have a unique electronic sound mixed with melodic vocals and heavy riffs which slot them nicely into a few different areas of the scene. They came to the stage with their own lighting which was used straight off the bat, when their set opened from a jet-black darkened stage and then amazing pure white spotlights zooming up behind the musicians, creating quite the impact. I love a band that make effort both visually as well as musically, as it really lets you know as an audience member that they had their fans in mind when putting together their performance.
Half way through, singer Harry climbed over the barrier and spent longer than I’ve seen any singer spend in the crowd, he had his arms around people, encouraging them to jump along with him and was talking to them like friends. It was really warming to see that he wasn’t afraid to be equal with them. It was like he was enjoying the experience just as much as they were.
I was pleasantly surprised by this band and don’t think it will be long before they are hopefully playing bigger venues, but earning a big support like this will certainly put them in good stead. They also just revealed dates for their first ever headline UK tour in December which you should check out if you like something a bit different but also a really good show!
Lastly, we arrive at the headliners and I could see people itching at the bit for them to come on. I got speaking to some members of the crowd while walking around and not one of them wasn’t excited like a little kid to be seeing a band they had followed since the beginning. It’s definitely a mean fete for any band, to have been on somewhat of a hiatus since 2014 and still be able to sell out shows when you come back to touring after so long. Also, although a lot the crowd were prominently around the 30s to late 40s in terms of age, there was a good mixture of younger and newer fans too, which was lovely to see.
For those of you not familiar with Elliot Minor, they are an English Pop-punk/rock band who were formed in the days of Myspace which, for you youngsters reading this, was a bit like Facebook but way better, and cooler, and nicer! They shot to fame after winning a competition which saw them support McFly and then went on to be signed by Warner Bros, then flew out to America to record their debut album, aptly named ‘Elliot Minor’.
They then went on to headline and play at major music festivals and tour around the world before deciding to take a break around 2010 , so each member could focus on other things. Briefly returning for a couple of, one off sold out shows in 2014 and then being on hiatus until 2024 when they announced they were working on new music.
So, after that very quick run-down of their background we can get down to this specific gig. When they came to the stage, the first thing that struck me was the screams coming from the audience and then how much older the band all were. I don’t at all mean that in a bad way as they are literally ages with myself but I mean they just looked like they had been and done all the other stuff, like marriage, babies and buying homes, and now this was their time. They looked so happy and overwhelmed with emotion to be back on stage playing in front of so many people again.
The crowd was made up of a hundred percent fans, and the electricity in the room was radiating around, while at the same time still somehow feeling intimate and friendly. Like a big reunion, which I suppose in a way it was.
They opened with the song ‘Jessica’ which is a high energy single from their debut album. Then straight away went into ‘Electric High’ which has an extremely catchy riff and melody in the chorus. It immediately sent my brain flooding back through all the memories from my teens when, dare I say it, things just seemed better and simpler. Throughout their high energy and at times reflective and emotional set, the band never stopped grinning and smiling at each other. Especially, brothers Dan Hetherton on drums and Ed Hetherton on Bass. It was like they were finally home on the stage again together.
There was a bit of a technical issue around five songs into their set when vocalist and guitarist Alex Davies, guitar just stopped working. He joked about it and while their tech was trying tirelessly throughout to get it working, Alex soldiered on and the band managed to play the next two songs without it, but this was kind of a great moment as it meant Alex had a weird sort of freedom to bounce around the stage that he didn’t normally have.
After several instrument and cable swaps and eventually the fault being found, the tech came running into the pit with a guitar to the crowd cheering and it finally started working again, much to the techs relief which you could visibly see on his face. Considering we were only the second show into their ‘Once in a Decade’ tour and this major issue happened, the band and their team handled it amazingly well, like it was no big deal. This made the crowd completely unfazed by the whole thing.
Stand out moments for me were songs ‘The Liar is You’ which showcases keyboard/piano player Ali Paul’s skills as well as being a more chilled moment in their set. Then their song ‘Still Figuring Out’ which even if you aren’t an Elliot Minor fan, you’ve probably heard at some point over the years. It’s a great catchy and upbeat tune that vocalist, co-founder and guitarist Ed Minton songs a lot of. The dynamic between him and Alex sharing both guitar and vocal duties, just works. They bounce off each other’s vibes and it’s easy to see why they have been friends for so many years after first starting to make music at high school together.
That was the last song in their set before they departed the stage for a short break and probably to let the amazing night sink in a little before they returned for a three-song encore! The crowd of course went mad and the place was absolutely jumping right up until the end. They closed out with ‘Parallel Worlds’ which is a sort of dark and gothic punk pop number that almost reminds me of early My Chemical Romance. This brought a sort of sadness across the room but a nice sadness if that makes sense. Everyone was singing every single word and hugging each other in celebration at seeing their favorite band live again and also, I felt like it was fear that there might another hiatus so trying to take in every minute of the night.
This gig as a whole, was one I will keep in my gig memory bank under the category ‘unforgettable’. It really was a celebration and just so warming to be witness to. I feel extremely lucky that I got to photograph and review this nice bunch of guys and hope that we see much more of them going forward.
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Photo Credits: Laura Muraska-Ross
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