Photos & Writing by Kevin McGann
This past week saw the return of Greater Manchester’s Elbow to New York City, their first show here in eight years. Despite the 1,800 person capacity of Brooklyn Steel, it felt like an intimate affair with an audience who listened with rapt attention and sang along to most songs. Singer and storyteller, Guy Garvey, was feeding off the energy in that room as were other original members Craig Potter on keys, Mark Potter on guitar, and Pete Turner on bass. Joining them this time around was Alex Reeves on drums who replaced Richard Jupp in 2024.
In the years since Elbow last played NYC they’ve released three more albums, the most recent being 2024’s Audio Vertigo which was followed by this year’s EP Audio Vertigo Echo. The addition of Reeves on drums brought a newfound energy on Vertigo which presented a more upbeat, percussive, dynamic approach yet didn’t sacrifice Elbow’s familiar sound or emotional punch. Tracks like “Lover’s Leap”, “Things I’ve Been Telling Myself for Years”, “Adriana Again”, and “Balu” fit nicely into a set that looked back through their storied career.
In addition to the newer songs, Elbow also revisited a number of tracks from their award winning fourth album, 2008’s The Seldom Seen Kid. Songs like “The Bones of You”, Mirrorball”, and “Grounds for Divorce” have long become staples in their shows and provided the most singalong moments for the crowd. And while the first encore song “Lippy Kids” came from 2011’s Build a Rocket Boys!, the closing number was “One Day Like This” from Kid which had Garvey splitting the crowd into three part harmonies and it was a glorious end to an amazing night.
Setlist from Brooklyn Steel 9.29.25
Things I’ve Been Telling Myself for Years
Lovers’ Leap
Adriana Again
The Bones of You
Kindling
My Sad Captains
Balu
The Seldom Seen Kid
Mirrorball
Station Approach
The Birds
Scattered Black and Whites
Magnificent (She Says)
Sober
Grounds for Divorce
Encore:
Lippy Kids
One Day Like This
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