Photo Credit: Kieran Craven
After achieving their second UK #1 earlier this year, THE LIBERTINES have dominated 2024 with several sold out shows to kick off the calendar, and an outdoor performance at Brighton Beach gave them the perfect warm-up ahead of their massive UK tour to close out the year on a high note. Carl, Pete, Gary and John made a return to the Welsh capital to entertain the crowd with a mixture of new songs, and classics from their catalogue.
The Cardiff crowd roared as the quartet made their way on to the stage, marking their comeback to the city after just 9 months. Opening their set with ‘The Delaney‘ followed by ‘What Became of the Likely Lads‘ to please fans of their earlier records from the get go and keep the energy levels high across the room. The capacity crowd continued to join in with the classics, with ‘Boys in the Band‘ and ‘What Katie Did‘ making an early appearance on the set list, whilst ‘Up the Bracket‘ and ‘Vertigo‘ raised the energy even more, before being brought down a level just in time for ‘Shiver‘.
The buzz across the venue soon picked up again, as ‘Run Run Run‘ restored The Libs’ reputation. Carl Barat takes centre stage on this hit, and goes beyond to release as much energy as possible with faster guitar playing, and non-stop movement on stage, all whilst Peter Doherty maintains his elegant stance beside him. Concluding the first portion of the set with another classic, ‘Can’t Stand Me Now‘, Doherty’s delightful presence was evidently still intact after all these years. The band exited the stage but it was clear there was still time for more.
Making their grand entrance for a second time, the band kicked off the six-track encore with ‘Man with the Melody‘ and ‘Oh Shit‘ before throwing in another crowd pleaser, ‘Gunga Din‘. Now into the final stretch, ‘Time for Heroes’ was met with a huge scream throughout the room, and it was just like everybody was reliving their youth once again. There was still time for one last song from their new album, and this came in the form of ‘Songs They Never Play on the Radio‘, but it was the grand finale of ‘Don’t Look Back Into the Sun‘ that showcased THE LIBERTINES‘ triumphant display, bowing out on their return to the Welsh capital in such elegant fashion.
Taped Magazine 