Belfast Telegraph: Snow Patrol take fans on emotional rollercoaster at intimate Belfast gig

It was Snow Patrol and their classics – but not as you’ve heard them before.

“Everything will be different” frontman Gary Lightbody said after their first song as they took their fans on an emotional rollercoaster. It was the first of two nights headlining the Waterfront Hall, Belfast as part of their Reworked tour. To celebrate their 25th anniversary, the Reworked tour is made up of Snow Patrol playing reimagined versions of some of their biggest hits – as well as new songs from the Reworked album. Fans breathed a sigh of relief when the gigs were rescheduled after the band were hit with sickness at the end of November.

The Bangor man joked that any songs you’ve ever loved would be “unrecognisable”. But they didn’t have to worry about that – as judging by the crowd’s reaction – they knew them all off by heart. He said: ”This is reworked, you should have gotten that from the first song.” And from the first haunting opening lines of You’re All I Have, a special night began.

Lightbody declared: “It’s our 25th anniversary and we’ll cry if we want to.”

You could hear a pin drop in between Lightbody’s soaring vocals as an appreciative audience listened intently and respectfully in the more intimate setting. Snow Patrol guided the adoring crowd through their hit list, including Take Back The City, Crack The Shutters, Spitting Games and many more. Run was a standout moment as the crowd bathed in red lights stood up and sang back with heart.

There was plenty of laughter throughout the night too. When one eager fan shouted for Lightbody to “take his top off”. He said he didn’t quite know how to respond, but that it made him want to put on more clothes, before bursting into a memorable rendition of Chocolate.

Snow Patrol have always remembered where they came from and their homes and family. Lightbody paused for a poignant moment to pay tribute to his late grandmother. He said she was the “greatest woman who ever lived on planet earth”. He added: “She taught our family how to be human. “She was the light in all our lives” He dedicated new song Think Of Home to her, which is about his life growing up in Ireland. It charts his visits to Belfast and Derry and the coastline, and was met with rousing spontaneous applause when he sang the line, “but there’s one thing we can all agree on, there’s beauty north, south, east and west”.

As always with Snow Patrol, the night was full of nostalgia as Lightbody told the crowd, “There is no 25 years without you guys”. He said with sincerity: “The first place to take us to heart was here. I want to thank you all for being with us from the start. “It means a lot to us that when we come here and play, it’s the most special gigs.”

Snow Patrol play the Waterfront again on Tuesday Dec 10.

Source: Belfast Telegraph