Doves will forever be a band that will be close to my heart for many reasons. I remember buying and listening to ‘Lost Souls’ for the first time some 25 years ago and being completely blown away. This album became a staple for me that soundtracked and followed me through my college and university years! Firesuite was my go-to song, when anything was going bad, I used to lay down somewhere quiet, put on some headphones, play the track and everything on the other side of it would be all ok.
If ‘Lost Souls’ blew me away then I don’t think I was ready for what ‘The Last Broadcast’ two years later was going to throw at me, this album was just majestic. So many amazing memories attached to this album and that time of my life.
I’d been looking forward to seeing Doves as soon as they announced they would be heading out on the road and with the announcement of a new album too, a double whammy! Brothers, Andy & Jez Williams, announced the tour would be without Jimi Goodwin and that he gave his blessing for the tour. It has been well documented regarding Jimi’s struggles with his health and it goes without saying that everyone wishes him well in his recovery. The new album, Constellations for the Lonely’ had been recorded remotely by Andy & Jez, so that Jimi was able to contribute his signature voice and bass lines, proving their adaptability, strength and love for one another.
I don’t think that I’ll be getting over being so close to the stage when Doves opened with ‘Firesuite’ as I said earlier this is a huge song for me and to be right there when it was played was a proper goosebumps moment for me! I had been wondering how the live shows would translate without Jimi on vocals and how the make-up of the band would be. Testament to the band that Doves are that this question was very quickly answered, I have no idea why I asked myself this in the first place!
The setlist, as expected, was a well-curated mix of new tracks from their latest album and the classics which included ‘Pounding’, ‘Words’, ‘Here It Comes’ and ‘Snowden’ to name a few. Doves, minus Jimi, maintained the band’s signature atmospheric soundscapes with the crowd responding enthusiastically, filling the Engine Rooms with a huge energy, buzz and appreciation.
Jez addressed the crowd at many points ‘Thank you for sticking with us, it means the absolute world to us and this one’s for you’ before launching into ‘Caught by the River’ and finishing the set with ‘Black and White Town’. The traditional encore followed with more classics including ‘The Cedar Room’, ‘There Goes The Fear’ before ending the evening by taking the crowd back to their pre-Doves days with with the Sub Sub number ‘Space Face’.
