When I think back on and ponder which was the hottest and sweatiest gig I’ve ever been to, one answer always jumps to mind. The Libertines at the Barrowlands in Glasgow in early 2004. The band were in a strange state – Pete Doherty was back in the band after his spell in prison for burgling bandmate Carl Barat’s house but barely months later he’d be out of the band. This translated into a performance cackling with manic energy and intra-band tension, which the Glaswegian crowd delighted in feeding off.
(If you’re not familiar with the highs and the lows of the Libertines it’s a classic rock n roll story of how drugs, drugs and plenty more drugs destroyed the band and several friendships).
Since reuniting a decade ago I’d managed to catch the Libs several times, but the older, more mature and possibly drug free band lacked the urgency and unpredictability of the band in their youth, to the point that when they announced tour dates for 2024 I almost passed over them. But a revitalising performance seeing them at the Wardrobe in Leeds earlier in the year saw me decide that I wouldn’t skip the main autumn tour supporting fourth album All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade.
As with recent Libertines tours rather than have one support act perform for half an hour, three acts ran almost one after the other to fill the gap between doors opening and the main act. Of the three, Zuzu turned out to be the most interesting, coming across as a Scouse Cheryl Tweedy who had modelled herself on Shirley Manson. She even managed to fill in the embarrassing two minutes between arriving on stage and the venue turning on power to the amps with style despite the unexpected setback.
Whilst recent Libertines shows have started slowly and saved the big songs for late in the set, there was no holding back in this performance. Opener Up the Bracket set a raucous tone for the evening and was followed up shortly afterwards by lost classic What Became of the Likely Lads. As the set list proceeded it was clear they’d struck the right balance between performing the songs that saw them rise to success, but looking forward as well, with never more than two songs separating new offerings. Nostalgia may have been on display but clearly the band had confidence in the new songs based on the number of them in the set.
Whilst the sleazy side of the band was demonstrated in the rapturously received renditions of Horrorshow and Boys in the Band may be what the group will be most remembered for, the communal sing alongs for What Katie Did and Music When the Lights go Out proved stand outs, showing the more tender side of the band and why at one point in their career they were briefly considered as the spiritual successors to Oasis. It was one of those shows where it felt that all of the audience knew every word – from those that saw the band in their early days to the group of students standing next to me who were probably younger than the vintage Libertines t-shirt I’d insisted on wearing.
As the show went on the crowd became more and more livelier, until the main set finished with triumphant versions of Run, Run, Run and Can’t Stand Me Now. But there was enough quality held back for the encore to turn into the wildest of indie disco nights out, with What a Waster, Gunga Din (sadly the only song performed from 2015’s Anthems for Doomed Youth), Time For Heroes and the finale Don’t Look Back into the Sun charged through in quick succession to leave the Leeds audience home happy.
Whilst the 2024 version of The Libertines may not quite have caused the crowd to reach the peak levels of sweatiness that they did the first time I saw them, they still provided an electrifying performance that showed there’s still life in the Albion cause yet. The new material may not have the same history and romanticism of the songs from the start of the band’s career, but the likes of Run, Run, Run, Mustangs and Night of the Hunter showed an evolution to the band’s approach to song writing – hopefully the gap to the next album will be slightly less than the nine year wait that fans had to endure this time round.
The Libertines performed:
Up the Bracket
I Have a Friend
What Became of the Likely Lads
Boys in the Band
Night of the Hunter
What Katie Did
The Good Old Days
Baron’s Claw
Shiver
Vertigo
Merry Old England
Death on the Stairs
Music When the Lights Go Out
Mustangs
Horrorshow
Run Run Run
Can’t Stand Me Now
***
Man With the Melody
What a Waster
Gunga Din
Last Post on the Bugle
Songs They Never Play on the Radio
Time for Heroes
Don’t Look Back Into the Sun
Alex Reviews Gigs 
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