Coach Party hold a unique record in my live music ticket buying experience; I’m pretty sit only took half an hour from first hearing them on 6 Music on my commute home to spending eighteen pounds for tickets to see them back in 2023 is still my record for shortest time first learning a band existed to being booked in to see them live. I can’t help but feel that fate must have decided that day to hand me a new favourite band, with just a five minute end of the working day discussion potentially causing me to miss out on discovering them.
Back in 2025 debut album Killjoy was the pressing concern; two and a half years later follow up Caramel was belatedly being given a headline tour four months after its release, with only a string of festival shows and Ash support shows to mark its release prior to this. A Friday night at Leeds’ delightful Wardrobe venue was a perfect location to delve into the intricacies of the album as well as highlights of their ever growing back catalogue.
A seems to be always the way at the Wardrobe the regular tour support act were joined by a local up and coming group, in this case Yuppie Supper who felt like a band still working out how best to utilise their singer’s considerable vocal power. Main support act Lizzie Esau put in a high energy performance that suggested she was capable of moving up bills in the near future, marshalling the early evening crowd to provide backing vocals for set closer Bleak Sublime in impressive fashion.
As soon as Coach Party enter the stage there was something different about the band – and not just in singer/bassist Jess Eastwood’s choice of yeti-esque faux fur coat (which is an early runner for iconic fashion choice of the year). Both the band’s sound and stage presence bristled with a confidence I’d not witnessed in previous performances, with guitarist Joe Perry (no, not Aerosmith‘s Joe Perry) hammering through opening songs Do it for Love and Can’t Talk Won’t to set the pace for the evening. By the second half of the set, with the majority of bass playing duties were passed over to the additional touring musician, Jess’ performance become increasingly energised feeding off the crowd’s enthusiasm (even if the aforementioned coat was sadly removed halfway through the performance).
Topped with recent release Nurse Depression the hour long performance showcased a band that had spent the past years building up their repertoire, with what could easily be described as a hit laden set. By the time of euphoric finale Girls! (complete with fake stage departure before returning to reprise the song’s iconic disco rock chorus) it was obvious to the crowd that they had witnessed a band on the verge of breaking through to the next level. After the show the band indicated a busy 2026 is in store for the quartet, which hopefully means yet more opportunities to see their stunning live show in the near future.
Were you at the Wardrobe or any other dates of Coach Party‘s recent tour? Make sure to leave a comment below
Coach Party performed:
Alex Reviews Gigs 
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