“They never fail to put on an incredible show and their talent and bond will, I can imagine, only grow stronger as the years continue” - McFly - Southampton - Show Review - By The Fans Magazine
Updated: Jul 1
Words, Review & Photography Credit: Grace Wearn
St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton - an incredible 35,000 cap venue located on the South Coast. My local stadium, that can be adapted for concerts like McFly. What was essentially a mini one day festival inside a venue, within the battles of the typical British weather.. wind, threats of rain and not weather related but in an open air venue.. seagulls.
Opening up the one day concert first and foremost, was a local band from Southampton - Myriad. Myriad are made up of; David (lead vocals), Jared (bass/ O lguitar), OJ (guitar) and Rai (drums), they were high energy, very guitar heavy with so strong on vocals. In their set, they not only had a great level of crowd interaction, but also a great focus on photographers in the pit - slightly posing for photos from stage, every so often.
They very much remind me of bands like Nothing But Thieves and You Me At Six, perhaps they drew inspiration from them but also slight elements of Brit Pop.
Second up was a band called Hot Sauce, which I just would like to say - I love their band name. They’re made up of good friends - Calum & Josh. They were nothing short of funky, they had incredible synth and guitar rhythms and their set was just the vibe of energetic and dancing around. Both from the band, and the crowd watching their set. Through their mellow, calm vocals mixed with somber percussion, focusing on both acoustic and electric instruments set, it was incredible.
Thirdly, was Scouting For Girls gracing the stage. I’ve been fortunate to catch them live a few times over many years and they are just always timeless. From personal experience, they’re down to earth and they’re bubbly and fun - which I think really shows in their songwriting, music releases but also their live set. They always have amazing crowd engagement and interaction, whilst playing a mix of fan favourites and newer releases.
Next was Sophie Ellis-Bextor, I haven’t seen Sophie live before; but I have seen the craze of Murder On The Dancefloor sweeping popularity on social media, like a frenzy. Her set alongside her incredible backing band - was SO fun, it was full of disco, lots of glitter, bubbly backing musicians and dancing. Alongside her fan favourite classics, she also remixed covers such as “Lady” “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)” and “Groovejet”.
Then we had the delight of McFly - the headliners for the day! I’ve been fortunate enough to catch McFly live many times over the years, through their supergroup with Busted, their VS tour with Busted or just McFly as McFly, and one theme is common across all.
They’re playful, energetic and their crowd interaction and engagement has always been on par regardless of what stage of their journey they’ve been at. Their production is always incredible too, with their lighting and sound and elements of strong immersive.
Two of my favourite songs of theirs were in the set - “Transylvania” and “Lies”, so I was of course - that bit extra happy! McFly never fail to put on an incredible show and their talent and bond will, I can imagine, only grow stronger as the years continue.
Massive thank you for St Mary’s Stadium for having us, as well as the incredible Security at Security Nation and every single touring individual, stage hand or venue staff. We had an even better day because of all of your kindness and helpfulness. So thank you!
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