Canterbury

By Ella Selfe

Camden Underworld was taken by storm on 27th October 2010. The south-western quartet Canterbury tore up London, making an impact on every audience member to witness it. With only a debut album to their name and an EP, “Calm Down”, released only 2 days earlier, their set was shorter than any longer established band but undoubtedly extremely sweet.

They powered into their set with ‘Peace and Quiet’ and the crowd were moving immediately with swarms of hands in the air, the energy was impressively high for a first song. Certain audience members took no time in clambering onto the stage to stage dive, several people doing so throughout each song. The second song, ‘Eleven, Twelve’ , was certainly a crowd pleaser. The movement and energy forever increased as Canterbury had their words sung back to them and it was evident that it was going to be a night to remember.

By the time the set reached ‘Ambulance’, the temperature in Camden Underworld was soaring, but the animation of the crowd remained at its highest, being mirrored by the delighted four-piece on stage.
The four boys put everything they had into their 12 song set and were received excellently by London town. Their catchy melodies and individual voices coincided perfectly and their communication with the crowd gave the intimate gig a much friendlier feel.

‘Gloria’, which was released as a single, was an obvious highlight and was sung by the crowd with enthusiasm, accompanied by hundreds of feet shaking the ground.

Once the first phase of their set had finished, Mike Sparks (vocals, guitar) was straight with the crowd admitting that normally at this point they would go off stage to “see if the crowd wanted more”. But in this case, there was no need and they powered through their last two songs with passion and confidence, determined to end the already successful night on a high.

When the crowd were asked to be a “human piano” during ‘Hometime’, they gladly obliged, with ‘nanana’s’ filling the venue with gusto. The last song, ‘Friends? We’re More Like A Gang’, threw the crowd into a frenzy once again.

Canterbury played a memorable show, for both themselves and the crowd. Luke Prebble (vocals, bass) described the evening as “mind-blowing” and stated that “without a shadow of a doubt”, it was “the best headline show they’d ever played”. The admiration from the audience was clear through their participation from start to finish and the spontaneous burst into chanting “Canterbury” right in the middle of the set had grins on the band member’s faces.

The band definitely have a very dedicated fan base, which is sure to grow if they continue to do exactly what they have been doing. There is a perfect slot for them in the music industry and they should embrace the future with confidence, because they surely deserve a place there.