Park View were supporting The Small Fortunes on a Saturday night that had no business being anything other than brilliant, and they made absolutely certain it wasn’t going to be anything less.

The five-piece from Newcastle (Alfie Kelly on vocals, Laura Kearns on bass, Lewis Nicholson on rhythm guitar, Tom Davys on drums and Alex Potter on guitar), didn’t so much take the stage as own it from the first second. From the very first breath, the energy in the room lurched up ten notches and never came back down. Stunning guitar riffs, drums paced with real precision and intent, and a chemistry between the band that felt less like performance and more like five mates who just happen to be brilliantly good at this.

Alfie Kelly is a front man who seems genuinely incapable of standing still; a perpetual motion machine of warmth, humour and sheer enthusiasm. Arms waving, leaping into the breaks, pulling the audience in closer, checking we were all having a good time (we were, Alfie, we really were!). The band’s banter was easy and genuine, and the crowd responded in kind. This is a live act that understands the transaction; you give us everything, we’ll give it back.

Six tracks. Six! I’ll be honest, it wasn’t enough, and I say that as someone who writes these things for a living and is supposed to be professionally objective about such matters. What those six tracks contained, however, was everything you’d want. Their latest single ‘She Doesn’t Know’ landed exactly as it should live, immediate, sharp and already familiar (probably more so for me as I reviewed it for NE Volume Magazine when it launched back in January. Missed it? You can grab a gander here…). ‘Pacemaker’ had heads nodding and feet barely staying on the ground. A slower number with Lewis stepping up to the mic offered a moment of real emotional tenderness which the room totally leaned into. And then there was ‘Bare Hands’, a brand new track that arrived like a surprise gift and left me grinning. If I walked in expecting a blend of The Strokes and Bloc Party, I left with an added layer of Foals in the mix, and I couldn’t have been more delighted about it.

These are a band making their own path, finding their own sound, and clearly revelling in the doing of it. Fresh from Edinburgh’s Wee Red Bar the night before, also supporting The Small Fortunes, their energy levels showed absolutely no sign of wear.

After the set, I caught up with Alfie for a great conversation about the band’s direction, the honest realities of navigating an industry that doesn’t make anything easy, football (the less said about the Derby the following day the better for some…), and what the revitalised chapter of Park View means for everyone involved. He was as warm and generous off stage as on it.

Manchester and London dates are on the horizon. Get ahead of it now, because something tells me the stages are only going to get bigger from here.

Find Park View on Instagram, Facebook and occasionally TikTok. Go give them a follow.

And Park View, if you’re reading this, next time, more than six tracks please. ☺️