Our music writer Amber Carnegie recently saw The Libertines, here’s what she thought of their gig…
After we caught The Libertines at the end of Reading Festival last year we were unsure of exactly how they were going to take on an arena. They may have sold out when they last played Nottingham but the arena still looked really sparse. The passion and eagerness of their fans made it clear that the faithful listeners weren’t just crammed at the front.
An arena tour usually comes with an organised act, special effects and rotating drum kits but The Libertines held their edge. There may have been glinting letters and screens but they kept all that to a minimal, even though there were scantily clad ushers handing out beers mid set. But for those paying attention the girls in the red guard jackets were a throw back to the band’s early gigging days.
Opening with ‘Barbarians’ from their latest ‘Anthems For Doomed Youth’ Nottingham saw this tight outfit finally back in sync, back as an identifiable unit, with all their raw rough around the edges sound that had a generation desperate for more. The Libertines are iconic for being one of the first indie bands to to create a scene around them, as they connected with fans through the internet, spreading their tales of Arcadia.
The Libertines can probably be counted as the inspiration for most indie bands we hear today and as they sped through a a set list of old and new tracks it was clear why they have become so influential. There were mic shares that brought back images of iconic scenes between Pete and Carl, but it was Gary Powell that stole the show. I couldn’t take our eyes off of him and the drum kit!
When I think of The Libertines we think of the last of the old school ‘rock stars’ with all the uproar that the media lapped up. With musicians now living lives online, I wonder how The Libertines would’ve rose to fame and how the band would’ve founded today. But as they closed their encore with ‘Don’t Look Back Into The Sun’ British icons filled the screens around the arena and there was no doubt that they had earned their place among them.