It’s quite hard not to like The Script, isn’t it?
Unless you take an instinctive dislike to the kind of radio-ready arena-indie-pop music that’s guaranteed to get everyone from your godchildren to your grandmother grooving, moving, and singing along any time they happen to hear it, that is. Or if you have a particular bias against charismatic and entertaining frontmen, pitch-perfect vocals, or live bands so tight, they could be used as elastic bands.
Or maybe – just maybe – we could understand your concerns if you spend any amount of time wondering whether any band who are close to twenty years into their career can ever really, truly mean any of this anymore; if a sold-out show, number one album, and smash-hit single just constitutes another day at the office for some musical collectives.
Fortunately, dear reader, we don’t harbour any of those feelings – and, judging by the capacity crowd’s reception to The Script’s show at Cornwall’s Eden Project, there aren’t many who do.
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In fact, if anything, this performance would’ve served to disprove some of those rather unwieldy concerns if they happened to be harboured by anyone who got dragged along to the crowd by an enthusiastic spouse, friend, or family member.
Because frankly, there just wasn’t a lot here to dislike. From the moment Danny O’Donoghue and co. strode onto the stage, it became almost impossible not to surrender to the sheer mass of charm, charisma, and all-around enthusiasm that was exhibited on stage through the course of the band’s ninety-and-a-bit-minute performance.
And, of course, there’s the small matter of The Script’s songs. Songs which, in their recorded form, are already really rather good – irresistibly catchy slices of full-band pop, backed with meaningful lyrics and the kind of instrumentation seemed to have been precision engineered to get stuck in your head.
Where they really shine, though, is in the live arena. Here, they’re delivered with candour and showmanship in equal measure, with O’Donoghue rarely letting up for a moment as he rattled through hits like Breakeven, The Man Who Can’t Be Moved, and the omni-excellent Hall Of fame.
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A more than honourable mention must go, of course, to the Eden Project itself.
As gig venues go, it’s arguably on the more scenic end of the scale. In fact, scratch that – it’s absolutely mindblowing. A stunning surrounding, with flawless sound, and a tendency to attract world-class acts to their intimate stage; there’s a reason why it’s one of our favourite venues on the planet.
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And then, after what felt like no time at all, it was all over.
The Script came, they saw, and they conquered Cornwall, leaving a trail of earworms and memories of what’s sure to go down as one of the shows of the year for all in attendance. A masterclass in pop performance, and a showcase of how a band can maintain the same energy and vigour twenty years into their career as they doubtless did at their very first gig.
