This Feeling presents – Nocturnal Coast Farewell Gig at EBGB’s, Liverpool

8 July 2022

First, I’d like to clarify why this article comes so long after the event and to take this opportunity to thank Luke, Joe, David, Milan and Alex of Nocturnal Coast for their patience and understanding.  Thanks also to Christabel Young, whose wonderful photos of this event were also put on hold, and to Billy Vitch, our New Sound Generation editor, for their kindness and support.

It suddenly became necessary for me to take some time out from writing and reviewing due to a family bereavement. This was always going to be temporary, a reset if you like, as the burning passion and appreciation for music is always within me. Unfortunately, as a consequence, this review was put on hold, but It was such a phenomenal and show-stopping event that I really feel it deserves to be written about and celebrated, albeit months later. 

 So, onwards and upwards and on with the show…

(Danelia_Credit: Christabel)

First support: Danelia

Drums – Flick Roe, bass – Marco Rodriguez,  guitar – Lilly Louise, guitar and keys – George Gaskell, vocals – Danelia

Liverpool-based solo artist Daniela opens for us tonight with a full band. Explosive and vibrant disco feels here! very uptempo, bubbling sounds. Very well performed with a great-sounding energetic band behind her. think Donna summers, earth wind and fire, real fizzing and sizzling studio 54 vibes. Great original material, with a sweet and strong vocal and need-to-dance tunes! well worth checking out, such a lovely and fun set!

Setlist: Suddenly finally, Heart that beats like you, Morning tea, Given the chance (new), Disco disco, Miss reality, For the first time (single)

(The AV Club_Credit: Christabel)

Second Support: The AV Club

Joe Banks – vocal/guitar, Oli Thomas – drums, Dan Turton – bass, Freya Rose Hann – vocal/guitar/keys

Always brilliant to see Warrington based the AV club. High vibrational electro-indie, real 80s feel with backing tracks, atmospheric and uplifting. Production and musicianship are very well executed and the mix between male and female vocals works superbly. it’s a very nostalgic set, real stranger things type concept, very stylised and as a band, they not only pull off a great sound but an entire feeling. It’s really joyful stuff, with optimistic themes and a great set! I always look forward to an AV Club gig, you just can’t stop smiling while they perform!

No Setlist

(The Raymonds_Credit: Christabel)

Third Support: The Raymonds 

Fin Richards – lead vocal/guitar, Max Morrow – guitar, Evan O’Toole – bass, James Lynchehaun – drums

The Raymonds are another Warrington-based band, and new, only performing for their first time in May, these guys are certainly flying. High energy, riff-heavy tunes, the feels are of sunshine and tropical islands! One epic, high adrenalin performance, the lads are bouncing around on stage! The sound is guitar lead with complex skippy beats and a steady, cheery vocal. I get a real Vampire Weekend feeling. The Raymonds are ones to watch, you can just feel there are big things coming! watch this space!

No Setlist

(Nocturnal Coast_Credit: Christabel)

Nocturnal Coast: Luke Saunders – vocal, Joe Murdoch – bass, David Gavan – lead guitar, Milan Reid – keys/synth, Alex Cain – drums

I’m back in the sunshine filled city of Liverpool and happy to be in EBGBs, the brilliant basement venue -iconic, holder of many amazing live music events – right in the heart of Liverpool. It’s a vibrant area: diverse venues, bars and eateries with quirkiness, along with stunning 18th-century architecture. It always feels somewhat bohemian here, which suits tonight’s band perfectly; but it’s bittersweet tonight. I’m excited of course to see Nocturnal Coast, who I’ve seen previously and was instantly a fan (I defy anyone not to be), but sadly it’s been announced that tonight is to be their final show, the last live performance as the band are taking a hiatus for the foreseeable future. I mean tonight will of course be epic, all the more special being the last, but it will be sad to see them go and it’s pretty packed in EBGBs tonight too. Its famous, arched brick, vaulted ceiling, cellar-style interior is alive with a sea of heads, all ready, waiting and raring to go for this local, cool and quirky band to show us how it’s done one last time. It does have the feels of a shaken can which upon opening will explode with musical energy. I’ve seen Nocturnal Coast before and was suitably impressed. They are the kind of band that really make an impact, for all the right reasons. It’s really busy within EBGBs now and the feels are up. As our headline act takes to the stage for their farewell finale you can literally feel the electricity in the air. In a flash of musical genius, a mesmerizing shower of electro sounds and synth, a rainbow of soaring guitar lines, heart pounding beats and a shimmering sound, our set begins. Dreamy, hazy, delirious feels of summer days, nostalgia, fizzing tunes and a real hypnotic state, transcending, uplifting. The sound is out of this world, very tightly performed, with excellent production and it all seems so effortless, it oozes from our band members like magic makers! 

Luke as frontman is commanding, with real showmanship, but the entire band are quite captivating; very cool and charismatic with real retro feels in both style and sounds. The crowd is bouncing, it’s packed out and heat levels have increased rapidly. I’m getting real gig feels. I say this all the time, but you just can’t beat a local basement club gig. It’s a very special feeling to be so up close, but within a big crowd at the same time – if you could bottle this feeling, it would be premium! The energy coming from off stage knows no bounds, and as a crowd, we feed from it hungrily. With a real 80s electro, new wave/post-punk feel (especially with the keys and synth) it’s got people moving, but there’s an alt-indie/art-house vibe going on alongside. It’s edgy, it’s funky, melodic and dreamlike yes, but with a jaggedness, a coolness and a punch, really dance-inducing and the wilds on stage are epic. All band members are totally lost in their music, bobbing, swaying, kicking and bouncing, but frontman Luke is on top form…he’s up on monitors, then he’s in the crowd, swinging the mic stand, leaning out over us from the edge of the stage, gyrating and gesticulating and even on the floor at times. It’s a high-octane performance and we can’t get enough! With real swagger Luke plays up to cameras and phones and whilst singing wanders through the crowd taking sips from people’s drinks as he goes…we honestly can’t get enough. Everyone’s eyes are fixated on him!  Meanwhile, often on his feet behind his mighty drum kit, Alex hammers out the beats. It’s oftentimes real, fast-paced, drum-driven stuff, reminiscent of that post-punk Adam Ant-type feel…think the drumming in ‘Ant Music’. Whispery backing vocals add to the atmosphere and each song seems better than the last, each one different, but all brought together with that Nocturnal Coast stamp – even managing to make completely their own, a cover of Joy Division’s iconic ‘Love will tear us apart’. But the one track we’ve all been waiting for is the real fan favourite and much loved ‘In the Jac’, which we’re kept hanging on for right until the very end…but my God, it’s so worth the wait! What a final song! It’s going off in here, the energy has been set alight, everyone’s bouncing, the band are wild, the sounds are immense and Luke is properly going for it…even more energy has been tapped into. It’s very fitting being in a basement whilst the lyrics ‘You’ll find me in the basement’ are sung over and over, albeit in the wrong basement, as the song refers to the Jacaranda, another famous Liverpool basement venue, but it works.  It’s fuelling the musical fires and everyone’s loving it! Then, upon finishing, Luke promptly goes about smashing up the stage in a real ‘The Who’ style rock n roll manner! The mic is chucked on the floor, the stand is kicked over, guitars are shoved and a keyboard slammed into the floor as he strides off stage and into the Green Room like some enigma!! Just wow! I mean what a song, what a set, and what an ending!

It’s safe to say Nocturnal Coast have blown the roof off tonight, ending on such a high and in true and spectacular rock n roll style! We’ve all been left a little breathless, and slightly dishevelled, but knowing we’ve all been a part of something memorable. The stage has the remnants of set lists and instruments and equipment strewn about. It’s been one breathtaking, whirlwind, roller coaster ride of a set and we’re all left completely dumbfounded and in awe! It’s a real shame this has been the last time we’ll see Nocturnal Coast, but they left us with something special.

Chatting to the band afterwards (who are laid back and in good humour) it’s clear that all members are keen to stay musically active, and some already have projects in the making. So whilst we mourn the loss of Nocturnal Coast, we can look forward to exciting new things to come. I will be staying tuned and will most certainly be reporting further on all aspects at every opportunity. But for now, a very fond farewell to the effervescent, uber cool, slick and stylish, shimmering electro indie god’s that were Nocturnal Coast. Thank you for the music.  The songs will be staying firmly on my playlist – and close to my heart.

Setlist: I don’t wanna be this afraid, Hologram revolvers, Things that last, Strange to translation, Above all, Cinema song, Dance, Love will tear us apart (cover), In the Jac

Words: Janet Harding & Images: Christabel

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