WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: 26/6/20

WHERE?: 86 metres above Copenhagen

SETLIST: I Don’t Know What’s Cool Anymore; Vacation; The Spell; 10,000 Nights; Sometimes 2020; Shadows; Fascination

Singers Anders SG and Stine plus band members Anders B, Rasmus, Anders and Troels must enjoy playing midsummer gigs because a year ago they performed their first UK gig since 2013 while at the weekend they staged a Danish show on a hotel roof.

• Read on for reasons including how to watch this high-rise 27-minute show

Regular readers may have realised we were big fans of the group and their fifth album Don’t Know What’s Cool Anymore made our album of the year shortlist while that return at Oslo in Hackney was on our gig of 2019 shortlist.

The band’s three-date UK tour was due to come to Brighton, Glasgow and London’s Subterania in April and was postponed to October because of Covid-19. Tickets

This gig proves they’re clearly itching for some sort of live return and the outdoor summer setting suits their brand of fizzy, euphoric, enormo-pop best when its played in shorts, colourful outfits and what appears to be from a hotel rooftop looking out over Copenhagen from a height of 86 metres.

You can watch this 27-minute hits-filled gig at the link below and we think you should because UK shows we’re currently excited about for September are being rescheduled for next year and it’s not at all clear that Alphabeat’s sold-out Saturday 10 October show where we plan to next join them in London will go ahead.

The seven-song set (see setlist above) features three singles from the fine new album, their biggest hits and at least something from each one of their albums although nothing from the superior side project or Stine’s fine solo back catalogue.

Biggest UK hit Fascination (number six in 2008) is probably why you fell in love with them and the boy/girl lead vocals works best on the call-and-response of the song’s bridge (‘The word is on your lips’ … ‘Say the word’) while the tune’s a bit Footloose and Anders SG’s tambourine-waving and enthusiasm just makes the whole concoction so infectious.

In a parallel universe the song that should have broken them even further in the UK, the Black Box-ish The Spell, remains an utter pop treasure. We’re currently on a lockdown staycation in London and so the more recent Vacation suits the summer vibe.

New single Sometimes 2020 (listen above) also features and is dancier than its incarnation on the current album. We’re reminded that their songwriting genius remains undimmed, they’re always amazing live and somewhere, some time soon we’re going to see them performing in their element in London again.

• Watch the show. Picture via Facebook courtesy Alphabeat. Tickets
• Have you seen Alphabeat live? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. Enjoyed this review? Follow its author on Twitter @NeilDurham, email neildurham3@gmail.com and check us out on Instagram and Facebook