Kodaline’s concert was as expected – full of soul and charm.
Fans of Irish rock band Kodaline waited four years for them to return, and with the soulful show they put on, it made the wait a worthwhile one.
The crowd was undoubtedly excited, yet a strange calmness could be felt even when weaving through to find that perfect spot. No pushing, no shoving. Kodaline would be proud to know their fans are chill, polite and considerate – something they actually mentioned when we interviewed them prior to the concert.
The band’s name flashed across the backdrop, and the first strum of the guitar sent the crowd cheering.
The group went steadily through songs off their albums from their debut effort In a Perfect World to their latest album, Politics of Living, taking the crowd through a delightful audio-sensory journey that got the hearts sobbing, heads bobbing and feet tapping.
Quiet respect filled the intimate space when ‘Angel’ was performed; it was a song written for a fan who passed away at one of their concerts back in 2016. Maybe it was the main vocalist Steve Garrigan’s voice, the lyrics and melody all coming together, but you could almost hear the earnest admiration Kodaline has for their fans. Overheard in the crowd: “I’m not crying, you are.”
But it’s little wonder why they have such a strong following even thousands of miles away from their hometown of Dublin.
Fan favourite ‘The One’ came on, and the ever-charming Steve gestured for the crowd to sing along, cheekily adding that if they didn’t know the lyrics, they could “pretend to sing along”. He had nothing to worry about, though – the crowd sang along to every word with sheer passion.
The highlight of the concert was the acoustic performance of ‘I Wouldn’t Be’, which beautifully showed off the vocals of all four members coming together. The number was one we were particularly excited about, as the band highlighted it as the one song they were most excited to perform. They had hoped that the crowd would be receptive to the performance and judging from the number of sniffles we heard, one can safely say that the crowd lapped it up.
The longtime fans wouldn’t let Kodaline go without playing hit songs like ‘All I Want’, of course. Responding to their screams for an encore, Kodaline returned back on stage much to the crowd’s delight (and dare I say, relief).
Ending the night by giving their fans literal ‘High Hopes’, Steve mentioned that Kodaline will be back to Singapore soon, “not four years this time, hopefully, next year”.
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