Not gonna lie; I already have that feeling of I-was-there-first smugness the minute I walk into the packed-out Corona Theatre tonight. Declan McKenna himself explains why midway through tonight’s set: “It’s been a while since I was last here when I was 17, and there were 12 people in the room!” I was one of those, back in May 2016, in that tiny little jazz bar above MTelus; cue the smugness! Declan does himself a disservice; I estimated between 40-50 that night, but surely that doesn’t include many of those inside Corona tonight; judging by the sound of the deafening young female screams that echo around the room from start to finish, they were probably ten years old then!
I likened that tiny 6-song solo show to an appetizer in preparation for a full-band full-show main course to follow. Well, it took a while; just over seven years, to be precise. But here we are! 17-year-old Declan is now 24-year-old Declan, and the shy, unassuming teenager has become a bona fide rock star, bounding out onto the stage in a 70’s silk shirt, white flares, and pointy tan shoes to kick off night 1 of a mammoth North America tour that will run on-and-off right through into November, with a full 4-piece band behind him now, it’s audibly a completely different experience too. You Better Believe!!! is a storming start to the set, Declan throwing shapes with his guitar like a seasoned pro; Twice Your Size is similarly epic. By the time he struts around the stage while soloing during a pummelling Beautiful Faces or tosses his guitar to the ground at the end of an incredible Isombard, it feels more reminiscent of a Libertines gig!
Instrumentally though, there’s certainly a lot more to the show than that. The atmospheric organ hum that leads into the anthemic Paracetamol creates the vibe of church service, at least until the teenage girls scream all over the top of it. The synths in Why Do You Feel So Down give it a delicate, uplifting boost, but when combined with the blazing strobes on Humongous, it sounds almost punk. Heck, we even get some jazz flute on the bluesy My House! Declan himself contributes keys on an as-yet-untitled new song and again on Be an Astronaut, the latter of which is somewhat reminiscent of Fool On The Hill by The Beatles. Declan has never been shy about his love of all things Beatles, and that’s exemplified by the psychedelic cover of George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass to start the encore. It’s surprisingly not lost on the young crowd, as they respond by illuminating Corona Theatre with cellphone lights.
The devoted crowd are key to making tonight’s show so memorable too. As grating as all those young screams between songs can be at times, the fervour with which they sing along to almost every tune is astonishing. Breakthrough single Brazil understandably gets the loudest reception of the night, but Make Me Your Queen is surprisingly huge too. The rousing word-perfect rendition of the spoken word section of Listen To Your Friends almost makes it feel like a hip-hop show for a moment! British Bombs, which closes out the 90-minute show for good, ensures that ears will be ringing long into the weekend.
It took just over seven years, but well played Declan; the main course was well worth the wait!
Setlist
- You Better Believe!!!
- Paracetamol
- Why Do You Feel So Down
- Listen to Your Friends
- (Unknown) (”New Song” on printed setlist)
- Twice Your Size
- The Key to Life on Earth
- Rapture
- My House
- Make Me Your Queen
- Humongous
- Beautiful Faces
- The Kids Don’t Wanna Come Home
- Be an Astronaut
- Brazil
- Isombard
Encore
- All Things Must Pass (George Harrison cover)
- British Bombs
Review & photos – Simon Williams
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