Monday 11/12/06 The Zutons, Candie Payne @ Mountford Hall, Liverpool

Zuton Fever came to Liverpool for some long overdue “do doo do-ing” as the cosmic scouse quintet descended on Mountford Hall for one of three special Christmas shows. With a mixed crowd present, it was clear that Zuton Fever had spread from teenagers to their parents in the advent of more catchy, chart friendly tunes proving that Dave, Sean, Boyan, Russ and Abi have come a long way since the modest platform of the nearby Zanzibar club. Now complete with music videos shot in exotic locations and a more polished air about them, they returned to a chanting home crowd that rivals that of the city’s football teams. 

Support came from the hotly tipped Candie Payne with 60’s inspired tuneage and a new coiffed hairdo to match. Complimenting the main attraction’s off kilter image, The Zuton’s drummer Sean’s little sister was able to hold her own on the big stage, as her most popular single ‘All I Need To Hear’ seemed to prick up the ears of the growing audience. 

Marking the end of their UK tour, tonight’s show was somewhat of a finale for another fantastic year for The Zutons. Bursting into the spotlight one by one with ‘Why Won’t You Give Me Your Love’, the group proceeded to go through pretty much the entirety of their back catalogue from the multi-influenced debut album that spawned hits such as ‘Confusion’, ‘Remember Me’ and ‘Pressure Point’ to 2006’s straight-up pop releases. Giving the band a chance to take a short break mid-performance, things developed a flavour of the East with an Arabic feel of a red backdrop and a rhythm good enough to charm a snake out of its basket. On their return, the addition of extra strings to the set allowed the group to launch into the more country inspired tracks ‘Confusion’, ‘Railroad’, and ‘Moons and Horrorshows’.

Asking if there were any nan’s in the audience, lead singer Dave dedicated ‘Valerie’ to the very few grannies present as the band began the most popular song of the night. Always unsmiling and absorbed in his songs, although not the best voice, Dave’s vocals are distinctive and strong making The Zutons’ songs so difficult for other artists to cover in that range. Finishing off with ‘You Will You Won’t’, everyone exited in a sea of fans chanting the tunes’ irritatingly catchy chorus and horny teenage boys shouting ‘You’re fit and you know you are’ at lovely saxophonist, Abi. Having sold out all three dates at the venue, The Zutons proved that they are still the first band of Merseyside and they aren’t prepared to move over for anyone else any time soon.