I went to see this performance at Burnley Mechanics, 6th July 2024. The doors opened at 19:00 and the show started at 19:30
The Lancashire hotpots took to the stage sporting their iconic colourful waistcoats and all sporting a tidy flatcap. The unique style of the band obviously has had an impact on the long term fans as I haven’t seen quite so many people sporting flatcaps before.
It didn’t take long for it to sink in that this performance would be a seamless blend between comedic songs and stand up, with a healthy about of playful banter between members, character work and crowd work
Their humour is based heavily upon relatability to north english culture (up the North), which for some, could mean the jokes dont have the same impact. The delivery of said jokes, which drifted between dry sarcasm and overly energetic, do a lot of the leg work in making the jokes applicable to all.
Songs about drinking, songs about snacks, songs about doing the washing up, all topics we can get behind and even though these themes can seem simple it’s surprising how much depth and humour can be found within them.
Their performance style is also good for parents as the humour is compromised of clean language, though a lot of the jokes are delivered through heavy innuendo. Young children may not get the humour but the music and atmosphere will keep them engaged, exemplified by the young girl who danced unabashedly in the front row throughout the whole performance.
There was a strong emphasis on crowd interaction, which suits an enthusiastic northern audience down to a T. Most songs almost required the crowd to sing along, whether is be cheers, chants or shouting “Argh” like a pirate when the lead singer swings a foam sword.
The Lancashire Hotpots seem to have a very loyal and passionate following as a lot of old time fans turned up to watch, their seemingly favourite, band play. The old time fans couldn’t contain their excitement and just had to move which somehow resulted in a conga line that circled the stairs and in front of the stage, much to everyone’s amusement.
Unfortunately, the small seating areas mean that the crowd focused sections can be overstimulating to people like myself though some would feel it adds to the atmosphere and vibe.
Cramped spaces with lots of people moving, with the flooring shaking and moving about it felt almost unstable, all this led to me feeling quite uncomfortable so if you struggle with too much stimuli this is something to consider.
I feel as though the show would definitely suit a standing event rather than a seated event. A half seated half standing would also suffice as there was a lot of older people in the audience. One other small problem with the seating is that the labelling of which row is which can be a bit confusing as the labels aren’t on the row themselves, though staff did help people to their seats. Leaflets were tucked on chairs which is a very good idea as many people took them and even got them signed at the end of the performance at the meet and greet.
The bar area, I feel, is too small and doesn’t seem too capable of handling a sold out crowd but it was a good atmosphere.
Towards the end of the second half of the performance we were treated to three encore songs, one of which was a duo. The band walked off the stage for the last time to a standing audience all clapping as emphatically as possible.
To summarise, the Lancashire Hotpots delivered a clean, high energy and very funny performance that everyone can appreciate and I will definitely watch them again whenever they return.
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