Review: Canterbury

It’s a pretty undisputed fact that when it comes to Monday nights in York, you’re better off staying in with a takeaway pizza and some good company than attempting a night on the town. However, this Monday was a different story as Fibbers played host to British rockers Canterbury, and their support acts Continental Keys and Lafontaines.

Unfortunately the gig only managed to pull a small crowd, but it was obvious from the off that this was in no way an accurate representation of the talent on offer. Continental Keys, consisting of one guitarist/singer Tom Jenkins, opened the evening with an indie vibe. Despite the minimal crowd and their sitting down, Jenkins managed to pull a strong reaction from everyone there with the sound of applause far surpassing expectations of an audience that size. His strong voice was unique and he was clearly enjoying himself. It’s not often that I go to a gig and come away wanting to look up the support acts, so I was pleasantly surprised at coming away with a new name to watch out for.

Glaswegian band Lafontaines, who are probably best understood as a Professor Green/Twin Atlantic love child, continued the show. The charismatic band clearly had a good sense of humour and did fantastically well at motivating the crowd, as well as clearly showcasing their talent. They sampled songs such as V V Brown’s ‘Shark in the Water’ with great success, as well as exhibiting their own material including catchy single ‘Superstar’.

After four months of touring together the members of Canterbury and Lafontaines have obviously become good friends and this connection made the show especially enjoyable to watch- Canterbury’s own Mike Sparks even ran on for an impromptu duet. When Canterbury made their entrance, the crowd livened up and were ready to hear the latest offerings of the band from Farnham, Surrey.

The first half of their set was devoted to the band’s newer songs, clearly promoting their album set for release in January. The band opened with ‘Saviour’ followed by explosive new single ‘Satellite’ which was well received by the fans. The energy Canterbury brought onto the stage was contagious, transforming the small venue from a slightly awkward audience to a lively group of people lucky enough to partake in a band moving in from the fringes of the smalltime to mainstream success.

One comment I would make, however, is that the songs in the first half of the set were not very well known, and whilst I appreciate their desire to showcase new tracks, perhaps a set list which better integrated their old and new would have stopped the performance from lagging at times.

The second half of the gig was particularly enjoyable, with a notable change of atmosphere in the club after the performance of ‘Calm Down’, invoking the audience to do the exact opposite. A personal highlight was the band’s performance of a beautiful stripped down version of ‘Diver’, one of their oldest songs. This really allowed the foursome to exhibit both their diversity of styles and the true quality of their voices as it became obvious that the whole band can sing.

Overall, Monday evening was an immensely enjoyable experience, offering reasons as to why the post weekend staying in mantra should be ignored. It is undeniably better to stay in with a take away on Monday nights in York, unless Canterbury are in town. In which case, get your ticket fast because these four are headed for much bigger and better things.