My Sat Nav appeared to take me through all the back roads of Gloucester to GL1 to see the mighty Feeder on their Silent Cry Tour, but as I eventually arrived outside (my only niggle is that there’s not enough parking!) I have to say I was impressed. The title GL1 Leisure Centre conjured up images for me of nothing more than a gymnasium with a small shop selling crisps and pop, so when I was exposed to a massive building with a brand new, slick feel to it, with an open plan reception area and contemporary bars, I was taken aback.

It had taken so long to find somewhere to park that the support band, The Chemists, had already started their set as I rushed through to the hall itself, with its modern exposed metal beams in the ceiling and speakers suspended by the stage. There was an incredibly young crowd here tonight – lots of teenagers out with friends and even younger kids chaperoned by their parents seemed to make up the majority of the crowd. This certainly didn’t dampen the incredible atmosphere that was already building though.

The Chemists, a Bristolian band, proved to be an involving act that whipped up the crowd with their guitar based, sing along rock songs like Hot In That, Something for the Weekend and their latest single Radio Booth. I actually quite enjoyed their set, and found my hands clapping and feet tapping on numerous occasions, even though I didn’t know them from Adam. The only thing that grated on my nerves was their cover version of the irritating Britney Spears song Toxic, but that wouldn’t stop me from checking out their forthcoming album.

As soon as the support band finished the young-uns started jostling for poll position in the mosh pit. There were all too familiar chants of ‘FEEDER! FEEDER!’ ten minutes before they even hit the stage! It’s hardly surprising that the crowd were so excited though, as this is the first time that Feeder have played in Gloucester, even though they have six studio albums (including the critically acclaimed Comfort In Sound and their latest release Silent Cry under their belt.


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This is actually the 3rd time I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Feeder this year, once during their May 2008 8-date whistle-stop tour at the Birmingham Barfly, and at the Birmingham Carling Academy a couple of weeks back. They never fail to disappoint me and tonight was no different.

As Grant Nicholas, Taka, Mark and the two Deans landed on stage, the crowd roared when their blistering opening song ‘We Are the People’ rocked the venue. You could almost reach out and touch the electric atmosphere during ‘We Can’t Rewind’ and it didn’t take long for finger pointing, jumping and overhead clapping to grip the crowd.

Grant Nicholas took a couple of minutes out from the 15-song set to dedicate ‘Fires’ (my personal favourite from Silent Cry) to all the crew members that lost their personal belongings on the tour bus that caught fire in October. Other songs performed that night that stand out in my mind include ‘Tracing Lines’ , their trademark song ‘Buck Rogers’ which sent the crowd into a frenzy of cheers from the front to the back, and the massive finale ‘Lost and Found’.

An amazing acoustic version of ‘Silent Cry’, the rocking ‘7 Days in the Sun’ (where Taka dominated the front of stage and pumped his fist in the air to the delight of the crowd), and the huge crowd pleaser ‘Just a Day’ were saved for the encore. Everything from drum sticks to plectrums and towels were thrown to the crowd as they roared with appreciation when time was up. The lighting, sound and atmosphere at GL1 was amazing that night and if I ever get the chance to watch Feeder here again I’ll jump at it!

Feeder will be kicking off their Japanese tour in February 2009, but just before then they’ll be hitting sunny Scarborough and Crewe for two warm up dates – catch them if you can!

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Review by Tricia Williams