21 years into their career, McFly don’t show any signs of slowing down. For a Sunday night in Halifax, this was as high energy as it gets, with a hit-packed 90 minutes of pure joy.
Those years of experience haven’t gone to waste, and they have clearly paid attention to their audience. From support act – the excellent Noahfinnce, who bounced unstoppably around the stage and cast a caustic eye at JK Rowling for her stance on trans issues – to the pre-show playlist, not a detail is missed. In the 20 minutes before McFly explode on to the stage, the crowd is engaged in a mass singalong, belting out Don’t Stop Believing, Livin’ on a Prayer and Bohemian Rhapsody. We’re half way through YMCA, when a huge bass chord rips across the Italianate piazza and signals the start of the main event.
Tom Fletcher sprints across the stage, Harry Judd takes his seat behind the kit, Dougie Poynter bounces to stage left and finally Danny Jones bursts to the front of the stage as they give us the perfect opener – Where Did All The Guitars Go? Leaps, poses, metal horns, big guitar chords. You could never accuse McFly of not giving it their all.
They smash through the early part of the set, barely pausing for breath and the crowd are loving it, keeping pace with everything the band throw at them. There are songs old and new, from their latest record Power to Play, right back to early songs like Room on the 3rd Floor, released 20 years ago.
There are the standards – Obviously, All About You, Everybody Knows – and these are lapped up. Indeed, there are few surprises, given the band were here 8 days ago, and the setlist is predominantly replicated. It’s what the crowd wants to hear though, and the joy and energy of the band is reciprocated in equal measure.
There’s a genuinely rocky edge to McFly too. Yes, they have the undeniable pop anthems, but they can really play as Jones takes lead vocals on Red and shows a different side to the band. In particular, Judd, elevated above the rest of the band on his riser, anchors the chaos in front of him with rock-solid beats.
All too soon, the night is drawing to a close, with the distinctive riff of Five Colours in her Hair ringing out across the arena. There’s no disappointment though, just a crowd continuing to lean into the happiness that the band exude when they’re up on stage. I’ve long been a believer that those bands who look like they’re enjoying themselves get a much better reaction from crowds compared to those who put their head down and play like they’re still in their parent’s garage. It’s certainly true here that the band seem to genuinely love each other’s company and it is reflected in the response they get.
As the band sang in the opening number – “rock n roll is good for the soul”
Set list:
1. Where Did All The Guitars Go
2. Land of the Bees
3. One for the Radio
4. Star Girl
5. That Girl
6. Lies
7. Corrupted
8. Room on the 3rd Floor
9. Obviously
10. Everybody Knows
11. Happiness
12. All About You
13. Broccoli
14. Shine A Light
15. Red
16. Forever’s Not Enough
17. Honey I’m Home
18. 5 Colours In Her Hair
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