First things first… it’s busy! And not just that, I am unprepared for how “normal” the majority of the crowd look. Momentarily forgetting how spoilt I have been recently with all the metal gigs and more eclectic musicianship. My weirdo beacon is shining brightly as I head to the front to check out the support band. Last time I was in Academy 1 it was to see Skindred, so this all feels very different. 

Dea Matrona, wow, what a pleasant surprise. These young ladies (aged just 22) from Belfast are named after the divine mother goddess in Celtic mythology, who gives her name to the river Marne (ancient Matrona) in Gaul. They started out busking and here they are tonight powering through ten songs in their 40-minute set. They absolutely nail it. The two singers swap bass and lead guitar numerous times throughout the set, showing just how amazingly talented they are, while treating us to a mix of cover songs (from the likes of Fleetwood Mac) and their own offerings. With influences including Led Zeppelin, Cream and Joan Jett, they are every bit the rock goddesses you would expect, and the crowd are suitably impressed. With strong vocals, awe-inspiring guitar solos and great dynamism between the band, it’s no surprise they have amassed over 6.9 million views on YouTube! My personal favourite of the night is their cover of Robert Johnson’s 1936 “Cross Road Blues”. I anticipate great things for them in the not-too-distant future. 

A short interlude later and it’s time for our headline act. I’ve never seen Feeder before. I don’t own any of their albums, I think they sound okay and I’m hoping tonight they prove it was worth leaving the house at the end of an extremely busy week. I recognise four or five songs, but aside from two I couldn’t name another song… and yet Feeder have been around for a staggering 28 years! For a band I feel I’ve always known existed, earlier this week at work I was greeted with blank gazes from two young colleagues when I mentioned the gig, which made me realise not everyone will know who they are. Despite headlining arena gigs in the past, tonight sadly those days seem to be long gone. 

Two of the original line-up remain in the band, Grant Nicholas on lead vocals and lead guitar, alongside Taka Hirose on bass and backing vocals. This tour follows last month’s release of their eleventh studio album “Torpedo”. It entered the U.K. album chart at number five, making it the band’s fifth top 5 album and tenth top 10. Tonight, we are introduced to six songs from the album including new single ‘The Healing’, ‘Magpie’ and ‘Born to Love You’. The latter appeals to my sentimental romantic tendencies. It’s a nice song but a little lacklustre. 

Throughout the set there is brief dialogue with the crowd, stating they are glad to be back on stage and on tour, they love the venue and the city. The crowd are chanting “Feeder” in between songs and singing along to the hits, everyone seems to be enjoying themselves but it’s all a bit safe and bland. I don’t know if the band are always this subdued, they are certainly good at what they do but is it for me? I guess I am used to more gritty, heavy noise, occasional theatrics and oft times a full-blown stage show!! 

Next up is ‘Feeling a Moment’ …wait, what? This is a Feeder song. I thought it was U2! Which I think says it all. We get a few more songs from the new album including slower paced ‘Desperate Hour’ before we go back to 2003 single ‘Just the Way I’m Feeling’. With such a huge back catalogue it must be hard to choose what to play but having been privy to the playlist before they even took to the stage, I know they have left their greatest hits until the end. Slightly bored by this point (this is more akin to Coldplay, The Verve and Oasis than I would like) I’m just soaking in the atmosphere and enjoying people watching. I’m guessing this could be a first gig post-pandemic for some people or a first ever gig for some of the younger people in the crowd, which is always nice to see. 

As we head towards the end of the main set I am definitely flagging and sadly my weirdo beacon has indeed attracted a weirdo. Some pisshead is now stood right in front of me dancing about and getting a bit too close for comfort. Hypervigilant with being here on my own, I observe for a few minutes before making a move towards the nearby barrier where security are stationed. Mainly because I don’t want to be flattened when said pisshead stumbles over but having recently written a safe events pledge and aware of the shocking statistics about how many women get harassed at gigs and festivals, I’m moving myself for my safety (and for his as right now I’m pretty irate). Despite my new location he persists in trying to talk to me… so word to the wise, if you’ve ever done this at a gig and been given the death stare or just been an unwanted nuisance please stop (and watch this space for an upcoming feature about safe gigs). I’m not saying it does not happen at metal gigs, but I’m not surprised it happened tonight as the place is ripe for it… sigh. 

So, the last few songs are the big hits ‘Buck Rogers’ and ‘Just a Day’. The crowd are loving it and I raise a smile. Worth sticking around for but now it’s really time to go and blast some METAL on my drive home. Might check out more of Dea Matrona too (their cover of ‘Cherry Bomb’ is rather good) as they were definitely the highlight of this slightly unusual night.