Public Service Broadcasting - York Barbican - 27th March 2025

Gargarin!

Thursday night saw me returning to see Public Service Broadcasting for the third time and the second time on this tour. The eldest was meant to be with me but was ill, and I didn't find anyone else who could come along at short notice. This was the second leg of the tour that I went to earlier in the year, so very much focused around The Last Flight, plus a great selection of favourites.

It was a bit of a crazy day; a work event had been arranged after I bought tickets, and I ended up heading back up the A1 from Rutland, hoping that there wouldn't be an traffic issues. Fortunately, there weren't. A quick hello to the family, a bite to eat then off to York.

The support act - She Drew the Gun - were excellent. An all-all woman band from Liverpool, the singer caught my attention from the start with the powerful poem that she used to introduce between songs. The words landed, and the songs were equally good. I've subsequently checked out more of their music and I really like it.

This was the poem, in case you're interested.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/2A5KcbwpPRs84k3XEH6QxZ?si=eafac211bcf946f5

They played:

1. Origin Song
2. Washed in Blue
3. Mirrors
4. Howl
5. Behave Myself
6. Poem
7. Panopticon.

EERA was with the Public Service Broadcasting again, and really added something to the performance. Her mike was turned down a bit low at some points, unfortunately.

That was the least of the worries; when the introduction for PSB was drawing to an end, there was a huge crackle and the whole stage went dark. JF Willgoose appeared on stage with a tech, and the audience took it with good humour. We restarted 15 minutes later. 

 

Everyone got into the concert quickly, relieved that it was just a short delay. And then, third song in (People Will Always Need Coal), everything went pear shaped again. Fortunately, it was just a quick restart. After than, there were no visible issues and I think that it got the crowd behind the band.

It was a great performance. They played 18 songs, one less than planned due to the technical issues. The track we lost was 'If War Should Come', which should have been before Spitfire. Here's the setlist:

1. Electra (with EERA)
2. The Fun of It (with EERA)
3. People Will Always Need Coal (with EERA)
4. Progress (with EERA)
5. Der Rhythmus Der Maschinen (with EERA)
6. E.V.A.
7. Night Mail
8. The South Atlantic (with EERA)
9. Arabian Flight (with EERA)
10. Monsoons
11. A Different Kind of Love (with EERA)
12. Spitfire
13. The Other Side
14. Go!

Encore.

1. Blue Heaven (with EERA)
2. People, Let's Dance (with EERA)
3. Gagarin (with EERA and She Drew the Gun as the Cosmonauts)
4. Everest (with EERA)

  

This was the first time I stood for the concert. I was about four rows back from the front, and it was a great atmosphere, but I felt it in my legs after. I only took a few pictures (you can see the rest) as the band asks you not to at the start (and certainly not to spend the whole concert watching through a 4" screen). I didn't want to take that many, as the energy and fun on the floor was more than engaging enough.

And then it was time to go, and I headed off very happy and  slightly deaf (the Apple Watch kept on giving me 90dBA warnings), having had a thoroughly good evening.It did take nearly 30 mins to get out of the Q-Park carpark though!