Originally published by The Birmingham Mail. November 2008.

The Feeling opened with I Thought It Was Over and Fill My Little World, followed by Never Be Lonely, from the album Twelve Stops and Home for which frontman Fan Gillespie Sells split the crowd in half to help with the vocals.

There is always an element of dread when a band resorts to audience participation so early but with The Feeling it not only worked but set the standard for future gigs.

The audience was up on its feet and did not stop all night.  Dan Gillespie Sells even threw himself into the crowd and surfed to the back of the hall and up the stairs to the balcony where a microphone and guitar were placed for him to do a solo rendition of Strange.

They concluded with a cover of the Beastle Boys’ 80’s classic (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party) as their second encore.

Ian D. Hall