Utrecht, The Netherlands – Canadian indie rock band Half Moon Run is currently on the road for a massive tour across the UK, Europe, and North America in honor of their latest album Salt, which was released in June of this year. With no fewer than four shows in the Netherlands, they played at a sold-out TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht.
For the European dates of the tour, the London-based Flyte will be the special guest. They usually play with a whole band but this time just the two songwriters performed together in an acoustic set. I was not familiar with their music, but I could tell from the people around me that they were certainly already well-known. I have never heard people sing along so loudly during the support act! With a new album on the way (releasing on October 27th), they also played a new song, “Chelsea Smiles”. Seemingly completely at ease and relaxed, joking between songs, they played their set and then left the stage.
All Photos © Sylvia Wijnands
Flyte
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While a packed Tivoli Vredenburg waited for the show, I could already feel the excitement buzzing in the air. The audience couldn’t wait for the show to start. When Half Moon Run hit the stage and started with “You Can Let Go” and subsequently the catchy “Hotel In Memphis” from their new album Salt, the crowd went wild! If I thought that the crowd was singing loudly with Flyte, I was so wrong. With every song, they belted out all of the lyrics, whether they were songs from the latest album or older ones. That enthusiasm came from both sides because Half Moon Run were also clearly having a great time on stage.
Especially in the first half of the show, the focus was on Salt’s songs with tracks like “9beat”, “Salt” and “Gigafire”. With the stirring “Call Me In The Afternoon” the multi-instrumentalists got everyone dancing if they weren’t already. “Grow Into Love” from the Seasons Of Change EP showed the band’s great harmonic voices. One of my favorites of the new album, “Alco” was one of the highlights of the night for me. For “Devil May Care” the trio gathered around one microphone to play the song acoustically. After the thrilling “She Wants To Know” the band left the stage. As the encore they played three more songs, ending with probably their biggest hit “Full Circle”.
Playing full of energy, Utrecht was completely blown away after twenty songs. Half Moon Run proves to be immensely popular in the Netherlands with three out of four shows completely sold out. The North American tour will start at the end of this month. For more info and tickets click here.
All Photos © Sylvia Wijnands
Half Moon Run
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Setlist:
You Can Let Go
Hotel In Memphis
Everyone’s Moving Out East
Narrow Margins
9beat
Razorblade
Salt
Gigafire
New Truth
Call Me In The Afternoon
Grow Into Love
Alco
Devil May Care
Goodbye Cali
Drug You
I Can’t Figure Out What’s Going On
She Wants To Know
Favourite Boy
Fire Escape
Full Circle
Show Date: October 6, 2023
