On the second date of their so called ‘Coastal tour’, Coasts – who recently returned from a successful tour in America – paid a visit to Hull, at a reasonably crowded Fruit. The dockside venue is part of an area increasingly recognised as one of springs of culture that are emerging in Hull, in the run up to its inauguration as City of Culture in 2017. Whilst still a small venue, it is perfectly suited to gigs like this one and should have a great future ahead of it. Just like Coasts in fact, whose musical quality, great sing along tunes and ability to put on an energetic show are sure signs that they are a band with great things ahead.
After a couple of decent support acts to get the growing audience excited, the band opened their set with ‘Wallow’ – a trend they have followed for a while, and for good reason. It’s a lively rock song that’s been around for some time meaning some members of the audience were already singing along. After this they sailed through a few slower lesser known songs. This didn’t matter as the talented members of Coasts really put on a performance, showcasing these songs well, with a highlight being ‘Golden City’. The atmosphere became a lot more lively half way through as they played fairly recent single ‘Modern Love’. A large part of the crowd, were now moving and mouthing the words to what is huge sounding and catchy tune, a testament to the band’s growing popularity.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csDfQBG527Q]
Transitions between songs were swift and the whole gig felt suitably fluid with singer, Chris Caines, using the breaks to thank the crowd for their support – even ruffling the hair of a particularly adoring fan at one point. As the gig went on, the energy from the small pocket of dancing young fans at the front spread into the rest of the room, especially when they played their most recognised song ‘A Rush of Blood’. This soulful anthem had most people singing along. Showcasing another new song ‘Stone’ they then finished with ‘Oceans’, another song that will most likely be a set list regular for some time yet.
Before finishing Chris said he’d love to come back to Hull soon and speaking to him and drummer, Ben, after the gig it was clear they’d loved the atmosphere inside Fruit. It would be great to see them come back to this characterful venue soon. That said, after putting on a performance like that, next time they may well need somewhere bigger.
Words by Tim Goodfellow