Stereophonics have been around for a bit, thanking their Belfast fans for 20 years of support, during a concert that was two days after the 19th anniversary of their first Number One album, Performance and Cocktails.
Regular visitors to Belfast, this was their first indoor concert in Belfast since November 2013, but they have played Belsonic twice since then.
What you get now is a Greatest Hits set. It’s been that way for at least ten years. Let’s face it, who goes to a concert to watch a band perform obscure B-Sides?
They began with more recent classics such as Cest La Vie, I Wanna Get Lost With You and Caught By The Wind.
Caught By The Wind being the standout single released from most recent album Scream Above The Sounds, alongside All In One Night.
Both singles giving off an atmospheric 80s Den Henley vibe.
Don’t be mocking Don Henley, he’s the acceptable face of singing drummers. If they were sounding like Phil Collins, that would be a different matter.
Four songs in, they returned to their debut album, which Jones noted had been released 20 years ago, playing More Life In A Tramp’s Vest.
While the song played, the large screen behind them a compilation of home videos from the band’s early days, with both Kelly and Richard Jones (no relation) both sporting long hairdos. The much missed Stuart Cable sported the same style throughout his time with the band.
During those days, they were known as Tragic Love Company. They had enough video editing skills in them days to write a caption on the screen. Thankfully, they changed their name, as there is only space for one band called TLC.
They then moved onto a song they wrote in San Francisco called Have A Nice Day, though it sounds like Kelly Jones sings “Have an ass day”. It can’t be unheard.
That was then followed by my favourite Stereophonics song, Superman, performed with all the groove and swagger you heard on record.
It was a different stage from previous Stereophonics concerts. Rather than your traditional rock n roll stage design, this stage extended in the middle across the floor, to where the halfway line on the Ice Hockey pitch would be.
You can tell i’m not an expert in stage design. If you went to see U2 in 2015 or Muse in 2016 at The Odyssey.
I was stood at the end of the stage, meaning I had a decent view when they were there, and a decent view when they were in the more traditional rock n roll stage position.
Stagehands snuck some decorations onto that area as the band moved up there. It was dressed as a lounge, similar to that in the video for Handbags and Gladrags, one of the songs that was performed during this section.
Oh yes, there were plenty of lava lamps.
As the band walked over to their new home, we were treated to an instrumental cover of Sweet Home Alabama.
One of the highlights of this section was an acoustic version of Pick A Part That’s New.
That was one of many songs from the first two albums that were played in succession such as Just Looking, Traffic, A Thousand Trees, The Bartender And The Thief
By now, we were at the encore, which included Local Boy In The Photograph.
It looked like they were going to go through a concert without playing Dakota, as Kelly began playing some wandering notes on his guitar, before slowly singing the words “Made me feel like the one, made me feel like the one”.
Everybody in the venue sang it back at him.
They then burst into the version we all know and love. A fantastic tune, their only Number One. It was a good way to sign off.
Stereophonics live at Titanic Belfast June 2016
Stereophonics live at Custom House Square August 2015
Stereophonics live at The Odyssey November 2013
Stereophonics live at Waterfront Hall March 2013
Stereophonics live at Custom House Square August 2010
Analogue Boy In A Digital World 
Pingback: FEEDER – LIVE AT THE LIMELIGHT 22.3.2018 | Analogue Boy In A Digital World
Pingback: 2018 IN PICTURES – MARCH | Analogue Boy In A Digital World