We Are Scientists with support from More Than Conquerors
Saturday 3rd August 2013 – Limelight, Belfast
Saturday night saw We Are Scientists returning for their first gig in Northern Ireland for a few years. The band have always gone over well in the UK and Northern Ireland has welcomed them, previously playing at Ward Park and Spring & Airbrake back in 2010. This time the band were supported by local favourites More Than Conquerors who were playing their second gig of the day.
More Than Conquerors kicked off the night with the rocking opener, ‘I’ve done nothing / I’ve done it all’. The venue slowly filled up throughout a lively half-hour set. The crowd was appreciative if largely subdued, but aided by a fuller venue and a few heavier, livelier songs including ‘When the Well Runs Dry‘ and new single ‘Jaw’, the latter half of the set got the crowd into the swing of things. By the end of their set, More Than Conquerors, armed with some great songs from their forthcoming debut album had got the crowd going and ready for We Are Scientists with some great songs.
After a bit of a break, the band everyone was waiting for came on stage to a brief rendition of I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight playing over the speakers. Coming on stage to a great reception We Are Scientists opened up with ‘Dinosaurs‘, the first track from Brain Thrust Mastery – a pretty energetic opener with a great bass-line.
The second track of their night was ‘This Scene is Dead‘ which got an even bigger reaction from the crowd. This set the tone for the night with the tracks from their popular album With Love & Squalor getting largely the biggest cheers from the crowd packed into the rather intimate venue of Limelight 2 – ‘Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt‘ was a particular highlight. These tracks probably suited the band the best on the night, WAS have added a touring member for the past few years, but here they were a trio. The straight up, fast paced songs off of With Love & Squalor were perfectly suited to the line-up and the venue. The set-list was largely a mixture of songs from With Love & Squalor and Barbara, the inclusion of ‘Something About You’ from their new double A-side was also well appreciated.
Of course as well as the great songs, the band is well known for the antics and humour of the two constant members, Keith Murray and Chris Cain. Throughout the night they interspersed the songs with well-appreciated ramblings and banter. Of note was chat about chastity belts, grinding and Uma Thurman – the two were on top form (despite Chris’ glaring lack of moustache).
As things drew to a close the crowd were treated to the favourite ‘The Great Escape‘ with the band allowing the crowd to sing the guitar riff, as we love to do in Belfast. The night ended with the other big hit, After Hours.
The band played for a little over an hour straight, with the lack of an encore a bit of a disappointment to the crowd. Though there couldn’t be too many complaints about the set-list which was a good mix although the three person line-up somewhat restricted the band. They were energetic and lively throughout, with Keith Murray making full use of the stage space and fast-paced drums backing each song. This was We Are Scientists first gig in Belfast for a couple of years and the crowd was certainly eager to welcome them back. With support from a great local band in More Than Conquerors and We Are Scientists on top form musically and banter-wise, all-in-all it made for a really enjoyable night that left both band and audience buzzing.
