Alfie Templeman’s 200th Gig Was One Of His Favourite Shows So Far!

Alfie Templeman has just set off on his UK 2024 tour and what an experience it has already been. His Manchester show was the second night of the tour, which was held at Manchester Academy 2. With different local artists from each area as support, it is set to be an incredible line up. 

To kick off the night Flat Moon, a six piece funk band from Leeds, took to the stage with an insane energy. Almost instantly Jacob was off exploring the area around the stage and coming up to the barricade to see fans mid performance, it truly started the night in the best way. Their overall vibe set the tone for the evening, smiles all round and dancing the night away, Flat Moon’s jazzy and hypnotising beats were nothing but incredible. 

They even started to perform a cover of Eminem’s ‘My Name Is’ before mixing it with ‘The Kind Of Bling’ from the TV show Horrible Histories, which stunned fans at first before the whole crowd quickly followed their lead. They closed their set with electrifying guitar riffs and screaming “The moon is flat” before dashing off the stage.

SOFY was the second support act ready to warm up the crowd before Alfie Templeman himself. She opened her set with ‘Big Talk’, a vibrant sounding track that comments on the online dating world followed by ‘mine’ which is her most recent single. Her unique sound had the crowd mesmerised for the 30 minutes that she was performing, as she danced around the stage with such passion and encouraged everyone to clap along to the beat. 

Slowing things down SOFY played a track named ‘Pirates’ from her upcoming project which is set to be released next march called ‘Another Day In Paradise’. The song is about falling in love with your best friend and it had everyone in the house swaying with their arms round one another, tentatively listening. ‘WET PAINT’ then brought the crowd back to dancing around and screaming the lyrics as SOFY confidently owned the stage. 

She then played ‘Desktop’ for us which was the first time it had been performed live and it couldn’t have gone better, before ending her set with ‘supermarket’. 

The crowd now waiting in anticipation for Alfie grow more and more excited as time goes by, ‘Everybody Wants To Rule The World’ by Tears For Fears blares through the speakers in the meantime. We then see him run on stage to an eruption of cheers and whistles. Alfie opens his 200th gig with ‘3D Feelings’, a perfect way to get fans immediately engaged and hyped up for his set. 

Followed by ‘Obvious Guy’, an incredibly catchy song fuelled by the bands enthusiasm to dance, everyone in the room started singing word for word and started to groove along simultaneously. The atmosphere Alfie’s presence created straight away was unlike no other, you could feel the love and appreciation between himself and his fans. 

The set was a perfect mix between the old and new including, ‘Film scene daydream’ and ‘Everybody’s Gonna Love Somebody’ released in 2021 and hits off of his brand new album ‘Radiosoul’. ‘Hello lonely’ in particular instantly brought the crowd alive, despite it’s vulnerable lyrics around feeling isolated, fans started screaming the lyrics and jumping around without a care in the world. Perhaps due to their emotional connection with the song, being able to see it performed live and sing along seemed very therapeutic. 

A stand out moment in the show was Alfie shouting “Lets f*cking do it” before the introduction of ‘Just A Dance’ begins, the build up of fans clapping to the beat desperate for the song to start. Featuring Nile Rodgers himself on the recording, he massively inspires Alfie’s guitars in his music, it’s a joyful disco track that only maintained the high energy of the crowd this Friday night. 

The iconic introduction of ‘Things I Thought Were Mine’ starts playing next and it’s instantly recognised by the crowd. Alfie then introduces ‘Eyes Wide Shut’, his first single release of 2024 which is evidently a fan favourite as a girl shouts to her friend “This is my favourite song!” before both singing their hearts out to one another for its entirety. 

The drums of ‘Dirty laundry’ then kick into action as Alfie introduces his most recent single which is a smooth and calming track to bop along to. His music is filled with bouncy guitar riffs and infectious melodies which really solidify his talent, accompanied by his captivating stage presence, his performance was phenomenal from start to finish. ‘Movies’ which is Alfie’s most streamed song on Spotify at nearly 25 million streams, is when the crowd really came alive. You could feel the floor beneath you bouncing as the whole room jumped in unison. 

Before the last song Alfie thanks the crowd, expressing how insane the show has been and that it’s been one of the best gigs so far to which the crowd screams and cheers. Of course his concert wouldn’t be complete though without an encore of ‘Happiness In Liquid Form’ so the chants of “one more song” begin and soon after Alfie is back on the stage and ready for action. Ending the night on such a high there’s only one more thing left to do, take a silly photo with the crowd of course. Alfie encourages everyone to stay for it before the house lights come back on and Alfie exists blowing kisses to the crowd. 

Emma Turner

@ems.lens3

Images: Emma Turner