The Cat Empire

We've been watching the Cat Empire since their early days of free concerts at St Kilda. When we first saw Cat Empire they were playing on a stage at the back of St Kilda beach in Melbourne with the fronds of the palm trees overhead. Their lyrics were a perfect homage to a blistering summer's day with lines about the trams and St Kilda. We have now been away from Australia for nearly six years, two and half of which have ben in London. In that time we have seen four times but while they were their superb entertaining selves the concerts never recaptured the magic of those balmy Melbourne nights. Enter the summer concert series at Somerset House. Such an amazing venue for a concert with the river behind the building and the elegant Georgian facades surrounding the square making it feel like an intimate and secret space. Add a liberal dose of sunshine and heat and to complete the mix a cheery contingent of happy Aussie fans seeing their beloved Cats once more.
Families had dressed themselves and their children in Cats tee shirts, numerous cat's ears were being worn with pride, with the tongue firmly planted in the cheek and so many classic and fun tropical shirts in all colours of the rainbow boded for a great night ahead. The concert was opened by Lucinda Bell and her orchestra who performed an amazing set that got the whole crowd in foot tapping mood. Lucinda has a magnificent voice which she uses to great effect. The harp was a nice touch and added even more class to an already classy setup. And then, a short while later, out came the Cats. Opening with Still Young they had the entire crowd dancing in moments. Hands were thrown in the air with many enthusiasts singing along. By the time they got to Sly the whole place was on the move with the dancing get livelier and the energy level getting higher and higher.
And just when we thought it couldn't get to be any more fun during The Wine Song Harry suggested the crowd grab friends and others in the crowd and dance in circles like Zorba and we all willing obliged to the sight of smiles and the sounds of much laughter. By the end we were all grinning ear to ear and I think the entire crowd had made new friends. And during the madness of The Chariot we knew we had found that magic again the first drew us to this band; The Cats were back! At the end of The Chariot and encore we all walked out of our musical haven smiling with and fantastic feel good feeling.
An experience I can recommend to every-one; be sure to go to Somerset House for a concert and be sure to see the Cat Empire. Thank you Cats for bringing so much joy to all of us; see you next time you are back in London or maybe when we are back down in Australia.

Ok so here’s what I like and here’s what I didn’t like about the Cat Empire show.

There was maybe 3 classics played: Two Shoes, The Chariot and one other, and the rest were newish or brand new.

As a musician I understand the need to wear in the new songs with live crowds so they become well known but what actually happened is you’ve got people that want to dance and sing to all the songs they know and love, and all their getting is songs they possibly haven’t heard before.

One more thing I’ll add, and I hope the boys see this, was in ‘two shoes’, Harry sings the octave higher ‘TWO SHOES FOR DANCING...’

It’s clearly the best part of the song right?
Except I only heard him sing it like that, once, through out the song, rather casually and soft... DUDE, BEST PART, flaunt that shit every chance you get!!

Also give us a wild trumpet solo. You are so darn good at that thing yet I felt like you shyed from owning the stage, unlike I’ve seen you do amazingly in the past.

Now to the positives...
Cat Empire, you played a few classics, and they got me moving and singing and smiling.

You did a few awesome jams through out the set, and the drummer was OFF TAP with his beats (off tap, meaning, solid AF, steady, technical, embodied, multi magic going on...

Sadly, I had expectations that weren’t met, and as a long time fan knowing most of the words to the classics, it was a let down...

I’m gonna give this show a 5 out of 10

Love you folk,
Big time fan,
Feel free to follow my music socials and critique me back haha,
Charlie White
www,charliewhite.xyz

Australian outfit The Cat Empire have been merging the genres of ska, jazz, latin, reggae and rock with surprisingly successful effects for the last fifteen years and their appeal has seen them leave their native homeland and travel globally spreading their uptempo sounds and energetic live show. The whole rapport onstage is improved by the fact the group's original lineup remains unchanged and therefore the musicians have experienced all of these fantastic tours and shows together.

It also helps as the musical arrangement is so diverse it would clearly take a lot of practice for a new member to learn the melodies of the band's work. This consistency means the band is able to deliver a ska/jazz smorgasbord of sorts reaching from all of their previous albums and demonstrating their sheer versatility as performers. The likes of 'Brighter Than Gold' and 'Sleep Won't Sleep' has the audiences tapping their toes along to the upbeat latin tones whilst the bonafide party track that is 'All Night Loud' has been rightly reserved for a stomping encore.

Awesome, really fun night. The Cat empire are one of the rare bands these days that are better live than on record! Our 5th time watching the cat empire and the never disappoint.

I wasn't overly thrilled about the venue, the layout was awkward and difficult to get a good view at the back due to the bar in the middle. The people - I don't think they were part of the crew but maybe friends or family of the band? Or of the crew? They were watching the band too- anyway they were on the lighting deck and were talking throughout the whole gig which was fine for most of the upbeat songs but during the more slower numbers it was quite annoying... Sorry, I sound like an absolute Diva but it was such a pain as the slower songs are really quite beautiful and you don't expect members of the crew to sit there having a chat about their day.

If you don't yet know The Cat Empire, do yourself a favor and have a listen to their songs on youtube or something, hurry. Their blend of ska, reggae, jazz, hip-hop, folk and latin rhythms is something so amazing and unique that you won't find it in any other band in the planet. They are distilled happiness. What's more, all that power and energy increases drastically on stage, their concerts are pure dynamite. Really, you won't be able to stop your body from dancing to their tunes live. I've been to the two shows they've done lately in Barcelona, and they never disappoint. You'll leave the venue with a smile from ear to ear!
Plus, they're super nice guys!

Sold out!
Support Tinpan Orange was nice although her voice was kind of damaged. But only a few times this could be heared. Must be hard for her to start tour though.
Atmosphere was great but then it took ages until Cat Empire appeared on stage. Too long!

However, first song was great, Cat Empire promised to get the whole room to dance and they made it right!
It was fun. Feel good & happy music including the nicely designed multicoloured stage it made us feel beeing somewhere around Australia...

My friend and I saw The Cat Empire at the O2 in Bournemouth Tuesday 30. As usual they were BRILLIANT! They are the most positive and uplifting band I have ever heard. If you've never seen them then make a point of going. Definitely put it on your one of the things I want to do in life list. Happy happy Cats!

so glad they finally came to america! my only complaint is that their set wasn't twice as long, by 11:30 i was just getting started. apparently this review must be at least 30 words long so i'm making it longer. i think it's long enough now. eat it songkick.

We bought the tickets five months ago and would have loved to have attended but the risk of contracting Covid19 by being in a crowd of 600 people for hours in a club was too great. It would have been responsible and respectful to have postponed the show.

saw them play in Manchester around 2012, it was one of the best live gigs I ever went to. the whole audience was jumping for the entire concert. Came out euphoric having lost my t-shirt and glasses. Awesome, don't miss them if you have the chance