The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Show reviews
  • Music
    • Live music
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureMusicLive music

Elbow at Hampton Court Palace

Elbow at Hampton Court Palace | Live review
13 June 2022
The editorial unit
Avatar
The editorial unit
13 June 2022

Music review

The editorial unit

Elbow at Hampton Court Palace

★★★★★

Highlights

The Birds, One Day Like This, Lippy Kids

Links

Twitter Facebook Instagram Website

Elbow have been at the forefront of the British indie scene for over two decades, with 2022 marking their 25th anniversary as a band.  The festival circuit darlings made their debut at Hampton Court Palace Festival with two dates on the 10th and 11th June, an intimate setting with a capacity crowd of 2,500 people – not that you’d know this with the strength of the crowd for the numerous singalong numbers.

The group took to the stage with the sun setting on a glorious early summer evening at the Tudor estate, of course, home to Henry VIII.  The audience was treated to 16 songs from across Elbow’s career, offering a fine showcase for the breadth of the band’s sound mixing heavier numbers, like the stomping opener Dexter and Sinister and the serene Mirrorball from the Mercury-winning album The Seldom Seen Kid, two mirror-balls positioned on either side of the stage producing an ethereal glow.

Singer Guy Garvey was in tremendous voice with the whole band proving their worth and entertaining the crowd throughout with no dull moments. Station Approach from 2005’s Leaders of the Free World earnt a rave response. While the setlist was broad, it is a shame there were no tracks from their first two, slightly harder-edged albums, though the more anthemic tracks suited the introspective setting and perhaps audiences at Glastonbury will be treated to some of those early tracks.

The prog-sounding The Birds – which is always a highlight at an Elbow gig – was sheer perfection, with the slow buildup rewarded with Garvey’s soaring vocal in its middle section. As the set drew to its close, the crowd became more involved with singalongs for the stunning My Sad Captains and a rollicking rendition of Grounds for Divorce, preceded by The Bones of You. 

Most bands would be happy to close with these tracks, but Elbow’s encore contained Lippy Kids, about Garvey’s native Bury and a clear fan favourite, with the crowd in loud voice singing back the song built around the beauty of Garvey’s voice: “build a rocket boys”. There is clearly no other choice to close an Elbow gig than the iconic One Day Like This, which the group also performed at the Jubilee Concert last week. It’s lost none of its power to unite a crowd 14 years after its initial release during the 2012 Olympics when the track surged up the charts. It was a timeless, joyous celebration of live music.   

Hampton Court feels perfect as a concert venue for Elbow who, despite making their debut, felt at home, delivering a rousing set of harder-edged tracks, slower ballads and singalongs, clearly showing why they have such a dedicated fan base and have lasted 25 years.

★★★★★

Christopher Connor
Photos: Mike Garnell

For further information and future events visit Elbow’s website here.

Watch the video for the single One Day Like This here:

Related ItemselbowfeaturedHampton Court Palacelive musiclive reviewmusicreview

More in Live music

St Vincent at the Hammersmith Apollo

★★★★★
Diletta Lobuono
Read More

The Rollings Stones give Glasto a run for its money at BST Festival in Hyde Park

★★★★★
Sarah Bradbury
Read More

Eagles bring a nostalgia-laden evening to the BST Festival in Hyde Park

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Ed Sheeran at Wembley Stadium

★★★★★
Bev Lung
Read More

Elton John sparkles on his Farewell tour at BST Festival in Hyde Park

★★★★★
Cristiana Ferrauti
Read More

Twenty One Pilots at Brixton Academy

★★★★★
Regan Harle
Read More

Imagine Dragons at MK Stadium

★★★★★
Katherine Parry
Read More

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds at Kenwood House

★★★★★
Francis Nash
Read More

Nile Rodgers at Kenwood House Heritage Festival

★★★★★
Jonathan Marshall
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Music review

The editorial unit

Elbow at Hampton Court Palace

★★★★★

Highlights

The Birds, One Day Like This, Lippy Kids

Links

Twitter Facebook Instagram Website

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Ed Sheeran at Wembley Stadium
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Eagles bring a nostalgia-laden evening to the BST Festival in Hyde Park
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Africa Fashion at the V&A
    ★★★★★
    Art
  • “He used to spit at the audience, roll on the ground, he did, in fact, hump that plastic dog – he was the original punk rocker”: Baz Luhrman, Tom Hanks, Austin Butler, Olivia DeJonge and Alton Mason on Elvis
    Cinema & Tv
  • The Princess
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • The Terminal List
    ★★★★★
    amazon
  • Baymax!
    ★★★★★
    disney
  • St Vincent at the Hammersmith Apollo
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Parisian bar Little Red Door to take over Adam Handling’s Eve Bar on 7 July
    Food & Drinks
  • Netflix Walking Tour: From Bridgerton to The Crown, a free walking tour through the filming locations
    Cinema & Tv
  • St Vincent at the Hammersmith Apollo
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Netflix Walking Tour: From Bridgerton to The Crown, a free walking tour through the filming locations
    Cinema & Tv
  • Africa Fashion at the V&A
    ★★★★★
    Art
  • Minions: The Rise of Gru
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • The Rollings Stones give Glasto a run for its money at BST Festival in Hyde Park
    ★★★★★
    Live music
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Sherwood | Show review
Rag’n’Bone Man at Kenwood House | Live review