The weekend saw a welcome return to Birmingham for Snow Patrol, the band playing their first gig here for some six years in support of their eighth studio album, The Forest is the Path. There have been some changes in personnel since last time around with the band now reduced to the core trio of Gary Lightbody (guitar, vocals), Nathan Connolly (guitar) and Jonny McDaid (keyboards, guitar), with the rhythm section provided by touring musicians Ben Epstein (bass) and Ash Soan (drums). Delivering a career spanning show packed full of arena filling anthems, powerful arrangements and outrageously brilliant visuals, this felt like a resurgence for Snow Patrol after what has seemingly been a difficult few years of internal tensions.

‘Take Back the City’ proved to be a lively opener and the crowd seemed on board from the moment the band hit the stage. At moments throughout the show Gary seemed in genuine awe at the enthusiastic response they received, and there were plenty of heart warming sing-a-long moments during the likes of ‘Run’ and ‘Shut Your Eyes’. Very notable were some clever visual effects and staging, particularly during recent songs ‘All’ and ‘The Beginning’ which made good use of the forest and nature themes of the new album and proved the band has clearly lost none of their songwriting craft. Gary also got to duet with Martha Wainwright all over again on the impressive ‘Set the Fire to the Third Bar’, as she appeared in pre-recorded video footage on the rear screen. Played at just the right moment in the evening, ‘Chasing Cars’ took the audience into a state of euphoria with its perfect blend of sentimentality and drama, before ‘You’re All I Have’ offered a frenetic close to the main set.

Despite Snow Patrol having been away for a number of years, it is clear that they still have a loyal fan base that can fill an arena on a Sunday night, evidencing a real passion for the band. If you missed them this time around, Snow Patrol will be back in the region during the summer when they play Cannock Chase as part of the Forest Live series.

Setlist:-

Take Back the City
Chocolate
Called Out in the Dark
All
Crack the Shutters
Set the Fire to the Third Bar
Run
The Beginning
The Lightning Strike (What If This Storm Ends?)
Talking About Hope
Open Your Eyes
Make This Go On Forever
Shut Your Eyes
Heal Me
Chasing Cars
You’re All I Have

Encore:
But I’ll Keep Trying
Just Say Yes