Elbow + Chiara Savasta @ MTelus▪

“IT’S BEEN SO LONG!”

So says Elbow frontman Guy Garvey, a few songs in, and he’s not wrong. Aside from a magical set at Osheaga 2009, they have never played Montreal in the nearly 18 years I’ve lived here, planted firmly on that list of legendary alternative British bands who never visit us, alongside Supergrass and Manic Street Preachers. But 2025 has been a liberating year; Stereophonics extricated themselves from that list in March, Kula Shaker just last month, and now finally, it’s the turn of Elbow. Rejoice!

After 30 minutes of bubblegum pop from local Lights lookalike Chiara Savasta (I’ll be honest, it’s a weird choice of opener), the mighty Mancunians take to the stage to a flurry of roars from the expectant crowd, followed by a female four-piece brass/woodwind/vocal section at stage left. Already, it’s shaping up to be a big show before a note is even played.

And a big show it proves to be — certainly one of my favourites of the year. Guy is one of the most unassuming frontmen around, looking more like a teacher than a rock star, but his lyricism is so profound, yet so simple. Opening song “Things I’ve Been Telling Myself for Years,” is a monstrous start, Guy delivering that tongue-in-cheek, intentionally mixed-up line, “Here’s to walking in every room like ascending for an Oscar / Kissing hands and shaking babies, Blackpool rock imposter,” over that devastating melody, which has a matching strobe blast for each beat. And Mirrorball, man… it’s like Guy reads our minds, confessing, “We took the town to town last night,” before pointing his mic at us to roar back that perfect simile, “We kissed like we invented it!”, knowing how much we love that line. He pats his heart in appreciation as the stage disco balls twinkle and the piano takes over — it’s absolutely magical.

By the time last song One Day Like This comes around, Guy orchestrates the crowd into four sections to provide a mass vocal harmony that leads right into the opening bars of the song, with the repeated refrain of “Throw those curtains wide!” sounding more and more triumphant with each repetition, and even more so when the band stops playing altogether to let the crowd sing the last few alone. Absolutely magical.

“Magical” — that’s an adjective I seem to write a lot in my notes tonight. The lighting is perfect, matching the swirling soundtrack beautifully, while the four-piece brass section (consisting of Cat Parker, Fiona Brice, Sarah Field, and Carol Jarvis) adds so much to the sound that they feel integral; you can’t fathom the show without them. From the trombone and saxophone on Lover’s Leap, to the twin violins of Kindling and Magnificent (She Says), to the twin trumpets of My Sad Captains, they make things that much more orchestral. And when they aren’t adding any instrumentation, the backing vocals they contribute to songs like Sober make an already angelic sound even more heavenly.

The rest of the band are a lot more understated, never speaking to the crowd but equally integral to the experience. Bassist Pete Turner leads the line on the upbeat funk of Adriana Again and Sober, while Mark Potter is blazing out lead guitar all night, especially shredding on The Birds, grinning at the reception they’re getting and nodding in agreement with Guy when he declares, “We’ve been together 35 years, and we still love every minute of every day!” Drummer Alex Reeves and keyboardist Craig Potter lay down backing vocals in places, and Alex’s drum range is fully on display in the live setting too, from the crashing drums of Balu and Station Approach to more delicate songs like The Seldom Seen Kid and The Bones of You.