Local lads Atlanta House bring their dreamy indie-rock to the intimate Oporto, with a generous helping of infectious energy.
You could talk to any music fan and we’d all agree that there’s nothing quite as wondrous as being at a gig with a pint in hand in a room full of people passionate about music. This feeling was beyond amplified at Oporto on this cold, Wednesday night in September.
Atlanta House are five lads who pride themselves on being beautifully experimental and having supported the likes of Circa Waves, Marsicans and Space previously, they’re no strangers to the indie music scene. With all of this in mind, it makes perfect sense for Atlanta House to be taking Leeds by storm and returning to Oporto for yet another headline show after their sell-out gig in 2017.
As a 120-capacity venue, it’s needless to say that the show was intimate. This did wonders for the atmosphere as friends, family and the growing fanbase for Atlanta House all came together to fill the venue from wall to wall and really show their support for the boys as they banged out tune after tune for everyone to bounce along to.
The headline show comes following their recent release of new track ‘Comfort’ which can only be described as dreamy – and Oporto’s audience definitely felt the love when frontman Matt Hirst announced they’d be playing the track. This wasn’t the only love felt on Wednesday evening either as Atlanta House quite clearly went to every length to make sure their set list was perfected. Fans sang whole-heartedly to the bands first 2016 single – ‘Girls Like You’ – with one friend even joining them on stage to do so, simply adding to the endless energy that could be felt in the venue that night.
Alongside the old and new was another track, that anyone who’s listened to BBC Radio 1 in the past year should be familiar with; an alternative rendition of Ariana Grande’s ‘God is a Woman’ which obviously drove the already lively audience (and myself) mad.
Throughout the show, we saw the likes of Matt Hirst and Jake Ingleson keep the vibes going as they wandered into the crowd themselves just to get a glimpse of the affections everyone really held towards the band and they didn’t let the atmosphere drop once as they did so. Crowds even went to the lengths of sweeping Matt off his feet as he crowd-surfed beneath Oporto’s legendary disco ball – and he didn’t give up singing once.
The demand for an encore was strong as the show closed but as time continued to pass after curfew, it wasn’t possible. While the lads and their friends and fans may have been slightly upset with this, it was clear to see that nobody was quite as upset as the bar staff when they saw the clean-up they’d been presented with after everyone going wild for Atlanta House. With everyone in high spirits, Oporto emptied and the night came to a close but fans didn’t stop smiling once as they poured outside into the cold – it’s evident that the five quite clearly have lots more planned for the near future and we all know it.
Listen to Comfort here:
All Image Credits: Kelsey Raynor