The Courteeners: What to expect when Liam Fray & co perform in Birmingham?

Courteeners produced an unforgettable performance as they made their highly-anticipated return to Manchester for the latest leg of their ‘Pink Cactus Cafe’ tour.

In what was the band’s first Manchester date since their show at Heaton Park in the summer of 2023, the five-piece from Middleton showed why they are one of the best live bands in the game in a homecoming to remember at the Co-Op Live that not even a technical glitch could hinder.

With the audience sufficiently warmed up after a red-hot opening set from The DMA’s, not even a 30 minute break could temper the excitement inside the Co-Op Live. As Oasis’ iconic ‘Morning Glory’ track boomed out in the arena, Courteeners made their way to the stage and kicked things off with the delicately-paced ‘Sweet Surrender’ to set the tone for what was to be an unbelievable night of music.

Throughout the night, Courteeners controlled the pace of the show to perfection as the band shifted from delicately-paced tracks such as the aforementioned ‘Sweet Surrender’, the thought-provoking ‘First Name Terms’ and the anthemic ‘Sunflower’ to more upbeat tracks such as ‘Are You In Love With a Notion’, ‘No You Didn’t, No You Don’t’ and ‘Modern Love’ that got the arena to erupt.

The band’s devoted army of fans made their presence felt throughout the night as pints of beer were launched into the sky, the crowd bounced, partook in moshpits of pure joy and harmonised with Fray throughout the night. From ‘The 17th’ to ‘What Took You So Long’ in the encore, there wasn’t a chorus left unsung and the walls of the Co-Op Live were given little respite from the 23,500 in attendance.

The biggest thing that stood out most to me was the simplicity of the set and how it was perfectly-executed. Throughout the band’s 100 minute set, there was no pyrotechnics, no over-the-top visual effects and no theatrics, it was just a group of highly talented and seasoned musicians playing their instruments in perfect harmony. If you want the blueprint on how to win over a crowd by just being great musicians, the Courteeners are the perfect example to watch.

After a riveting performance of ‘Hanging Off Your Cloud’, the pace dipped as Fray addressed the audience and took centre stage for the acoustic section of the set that showcased his impressive vocals. An excellent performance of Labi Siffre’s ‘It Must Be Love’ kicked things off before the audience was transported on a trip down memory lane, with ‘Please Don’t’ and ‘Bide Your Time’ from the cult classic ‘St Jude’s’. ‘Smiths Disco’ closed out the acoustic section, and set the stage for a rowdy finale.

As Fray and co returned to the stage for the encore, songs such as the melancholic ‘Small Bones’, the reflective ‘The Beginning of The End’ was performed with the DMA’s and the timeless classic ‘What Took You So Long’ offered a nice variety of hits and great moments. However, it was a breathtaking rendition of ‘Not Nineteen Forever’ that saw flare smoke fill in the arena and the walls of the auditorium shake in what was the loudest song I’ve ever heard inside Manchester’s new state-of-the-art arena (Sorry Mr. Brightside).