Soon we'll be in heaven...or at least somewhere near.

Liam Fray is currently touring England with sold-out acoustic shows and I couldn't miss an occasion to see the man himself on stage, by his own (can't help but endlessly supporting him)...

Meet your new favourite band! The evening began with Carnival Club. Though I didn't know them before, as soon as they appeared on stage I immediately fell in love! They're stylish, they come from Manchester and they play indie rock in an irresistible way, what more could you ask for? Have to confess I find it quite hard to put into words how good it felt to witness the birth of a band as brilliant as them. If you haven't heard Carnival Club yet, go check them out! The band haven't released their debut album yet but their first EP "Magdalena's Cape" is available on Spotify, they're active on Twitter & Instagram and they are also headlining their first show in Manchester at Sound Control for the release of new single "Sin City" (can't wait to hear the studio version as it sounded so so good live!!) on November 24th, you can buy tickets there!

With the 15 minutes late de rigueur, Liam Fray appears on stage, bowing. Plain yet elegant, he is dressed with black darted trousers, white shirt, gorgeous embroidered boots and starts the set with "How Come". Though I wasn't sure about the atmosphere in the crowd as it was an acoustic gig (hence neither flares nor crowd surfing) it turned out lads kept singing their hearts out and chanting "What Took You So Long?" in between songs which felt both warm and emotional. As some songs are used to be played at Courteeners gigs ("Please Don't", "Bide Your Time", "Lose Control", "Acrylic", "Are You In Love With a Notion?", "Not Nineteen Forever",...), others felt good hearing live as they rarely appear on setlists ("Sunflower", "Chipping Away", "International", "Car 31" among others). After the massive Old Trafford concert in May I thought I wouldn't feel this special feeling again but it ended up more heartwarming than ever. The songs performed with the strings quartet sounded both magical and poetic and Liam proved he was vocally at his best. Even though I am so very proud to see a band I've been loving for so many years play enormous shows, my favourite gigs remain the ones in small venues, the ones during which you can have eye contacts with the frontman, share smiles and feel the music connecting people to one another. I always find myself amazed to be a fan of a band who can achieve both and can still put stars in people's eyes, even if it's just for one evening...

-A.