Snow Patrol Review: Early outing gets appetite up for lunch

Published on Tuesday 28 October 2008 08:56

Snow Patrol *** Assembly Hall IT'S 11.59am on a bitterly cold October morning in the Capital. Outside Mound Place, a long, long queue of hardy Snow Patrol fans snakes its way up through Milne's Court and down the Royal Mile. In short, it's not the kind of weather to be standing still in for too long.

Granted, lining up outside Assembly Hall isn't exactly as cool as, say, standing outside New York's legendary CBGBs or The Apollo; nevertheless, to those dedicated fans who turned out to see their favourite band (some of whom were wearing just a T-shirt), one thing's for sure: it's never too early for rock and roll. Or is it?

Entering the former Scottish Parliament debating chamber to the (ahem) divine strains of AC/DC's Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution blasting from the speakers, the time, setting, and choice of background music couldn't have been more bizarre. For as soon as Snow Patrol's singer-guitarist, Gary Lightbody, took to the stage for an acoustic rendition of Set Down Your Glass – the sun shining on him through stained-glass windows – you wondered if this was all some sort of strange dream. And it wasn't even lunchtime yet.

"How's everyone doing? Clearly not well," joked Lightbody, in reference to the cold weather and the many coughs ringing out across the chamber.

"We're gonna start off with a little hymn by Chris Waddle and Glenn Hoddle – remember them? – called Diamond Lights."

Thankfully, the band didn't indulge in a version of the ex-England footballers' 1987 novelty pop song. Instead they embarked on an hour-plus set of old favourites and songs from their new album, A Hundred Million Suns. Yesterday marked its official release in the UK, and, somewhat unsurprisingly, the songs performed from AHMS sound just like any other lazily strummed, mid-tempo song from the band's last two (very successful) albums. From If There's A Rocket Tie Me To It to The Golden Floor, from Crack The Shutters to the band's new single, Take Back The City, every track has a singalong chorus that could well end up appearing on some future mobile phone network TV advert.

Still, Lightbody and chums were in high spirits throughout, cracking jokes despite the recurrent threat of technical gremlins interfering with the guitars and keyboards at various points in the show.

A few years ago the Northern Irish-Scottish outfit could barely get a gig – now their albums are flying off the shelves.

When it came to performing the more well-known material in the set, the audience wasted little time in rising to their feet, turning what was essentially early Monday afternoon into Saturday night. And well they might. It's not often Snow Patrol will give their fans the opportunity to enjoy seeing them up close and personal.

That said, midday on a Monday is still far, far too early for rock and roll. Even if it is Snow Patrol.