Photos and review by Mariah Reilly – On Friday, September 15th, 2023, almost four years since their last show on US soil, British alt-rockers Nothing But Thieves took the stage, supported by fellow English band Kid Kapichi. This stop at the Fillmore Philadelphia was the third night of their Dead Club City tour, supporting their recent release of the same name.
The Fillmore is a fantastic venue to see a show, with not a bad viewpoint in the place, eclectic decor, and glittering chandeliers. That, combined with the air of excited anticipation from the crowd, set the scene for an incredible night.
Kid Kapichi sounds like if The Clash became a band in the 2020s. Listening to them, you can clearly hear the punk influence, but with a tinge of industrial grunge. Songs like “Working Man’s Town” and “5 Days On (2 Days Off)” mourn the struggles of the working class while doing it with a sarcastic punch (seeming especially pertinent at this moment in history.) The crowd seemed dialed in, particularly during their popular single, “New England,” where many sang along. The last song, “Smash the Gaff,” is an existential crisis paired with a beat-down riff straight out of the hardcore scene. Their intensity brought up the crowd’s energy, priming them for the Nothing But Thieves set to come.
The Nothing But Thieves set began with the high drama opening track, “Welcome to the DCC,” off their latest release, Dead Club City. The song advertises a city-wide members-only club, and the concept continues throughout the album. The song has a Daft Punk-esque hook that is impossible to resist grooving to. The set continued with “Is Everybody Going Crazy?” from 2020’s timely release, Moral Panic, and cycled through songs from six of their catalog.
Frontman Conor Mason’s voice is truly one of a kind, soaring from one register to the next effortlessly in an impressive display of vocal prowess. On tracks such as “Just a Kid,” “Futureproof,” and “Tomorrow is Closed,” he sounded practically otherworldly. The band’s live show included several exciting deviations from the recorded tracks, like an extended interlude on “City Haunts,” “complicated vocal runs,” and an emphasis on heavier guitar parts.
The band commented on how engaged the crowd was, something that was noticeable to anyone observing. It was visibly apparent that the attendees were genuinely enjoying the show, with many singing and dancing wholeheartedly, no one too cool to show their enjoyment. It was easy to think, “This will be the best one,” during each song, but each one was performed near flawlessly, and at no point felt phoned in.
The night concluded with their anthem, “Overcome,” off of Dead Club City, its uplifting lyrics leaving few dry eyes in the audience and sending attendees out into the night on a hopeful note.
KID KAPICHI
