Nothing But Thieves @ Coda

WRITTEN BY: JESS MIHALCZO

PHOTOS BY: JAIME WOUTERS

In the middle of Philadelphia’s posh Rittenhouse square, Nothing But Thieves rocked the house down at the Coda. Doors opened at 8pm and a long line rushed inside with anticipation of the sold-out event. United Kingdom natives, Nothing But Thieves were touring with indie-rock band Airways from the UK and electropop band Missio from Austin, Texas.

Airways, a four-piece band, started the night strong with songs like “Mate” and its hit “One Foot” off their 2017 EP, Starting to Spin. Airway’s music rang clear through the venue with a catchy upbeat tone that got the crowd moving. Next came Missio, who shook the whole block with its deep bass and electronic beat drops. The fans I had talked to were dedicated and had seen the band several times prior and had come just to see them that night. The singer, Matthew Brue spoke to the crowd honestly about his own personal struggles and shared some inspiring words, reminding people that they are not alone. But, the highlight of the set came towards the end with “Middle Finger.” Brue introduced the song by admitting he never wanted to write a pop song because it wasn’t “dark enough” for the band’s style, but he couldn’t deny the song’s popularity with the masses.

The night had been speeding along with engaging openers until 10pm when Missio finished its act and the crowd was anxious to get Nothing But Thieves on the stage. Around 10:40 the band didn’t disappoint and rolled out, starting the set with the song “I’m Not Made By Design” off its newest album Broken Machine, released September 8, 2017. NBT played a perfect mix of songs off its new album and its 2015 self-titled album. Singer Connor Mason seemed a bit tense at first but quickly loosened up as the night went on. He is a small man with a truly incredible and huge voice that filled the entire room, even on top of their sometimes-heavy instrumentals.

The band is a five-piece consisting of Conor Mason on vocals/guitar, Joe Langridge-Brown on guitar, Dom Craik on guitar/synth, Phillip Blake on bass, and James Price on drums. Being a five-piece, the band had an enormous presence when it came to sound, and the added synth during intense parts of songs gave it even more of an extra “umf.” Despite the band’s amazing talent, the band members remained humble and connected with the audience. A couple rowdy audience members on the balcony threw almost 10 pairs of women’s underwear at Conor Mason on stage in the middle of the song “If I Get High,” causing the whole show to stop temporarily as the band was struck with confusion and laughter. Eventually, after everyone had  a good laugh and the band members were done joking around and throwing the underwear at each other, the song continued. The rest of the set continued to be light hearted with Mason sneaking out a laugh every now and then about the incident.

The band played until nearly midnight and closed its set with fan favorites “Particles” and “Amsterdam,” ending the night on an extremely high note.

Full Setlist:

1. I’m Not Made By Design
2. Like Animals
3. Trip Switch
4. Wake Up Call
5. Soda
6. Hostage
7. Drawing Pins
8. Graveyard Whistling
9. I Was Just A Kid
10. Hanging
11. Itch
12. If I Get High
13. Broken Machine
14. Hell, Yeah
15. Ban All The Music
16. Sorry

Encore:

1. Particles
2. Amsterdam