Rescue Rooms, Nottingham – 03/03/2026
There is something inherently magical about watching a master storyteller pivot from the screen to the stage. When that storyteller is Peter Capaldi, the result isn’t just a gig; it’s a curated evening of anecdotes, self-deprecation, and surprisingly potent indie-rock.
Taking over Nottingham’s Rescue Rooms, Capaldi proved that while he might be a “grandad who puts the bins out” (his words, not ours), he’s also a frontman with the charisma to hold a room from the front barrier to the very back of the balcony.
Zoe Graham: Therapy, Dogs, and K9 References
Opening the night was Zoe Graham, whose return to Nottingham was a far cry from her previous visit where she played to just four people. Alone on stage, she joked about her band being “put in a box” (a loop pedal) at her feet.
The highlight of her set came during a bit of crowd participation for her track ‘Evelyn’. Asking the audience to “pretend to be a dog, a hound, a whippet,” one sharp-witted fan shouted out “K9.” The Doctor Who reference landed perfectly, with Graham playing along, wondering if her pedal box was “bigger on the inside.”
Beyond the banter, Graham’s set was deeply personal, featuring songs from her album Tent, written during her time in therapy. She even offered the crowd a “personality test” via a QR code, linking fans to songs that matched their results. With her powerful vocals and “feminine energy,” Graham proved she has the presence of a full band even when standing solo.
Capaldi: Bin Night and “A Little Bit of Class”
As Peter Capaldi took the stage, flanked by a band sporting bedazzled Adidas tracksuits, he immediately donned his shades and set the tone. Capaldi introduced ‘Bin night’ with a wry tale about the domesticity of getting older.
However, the energy shifted rapidly. ‘Ken and Anne Marie (Beautiful and Weird)’ saw the stage bathed in red light as Capaldi leaned into high-energy guitar breakdowns, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his guitarist.
The night was anchored by Capaldi’s storytelling. He spoke of a time before “punk, goth, or emo,” when people just “looked a little weird.” This sense of nostalgia peaked during ‘A Little Bit of Class’, a song inspired by a chance meeting in the 60s. The room truly roared as Peter held the microphone out to the audience, the balcony and barrier alike joining in a massive, unified singalong.
“One Foot In Front of The Other”
Capaldi’s setlist felt like a journey through his own psyche. He joked that most of his songs are “miserable” and described a “happy” song he tried to write that accidentally became about a small-town stalker.
The production was expertly handled, particularly during ‘The Great Magnificence’, where deep, focused vocals were met with a sudden, thunderous blast of drums and yellow light. But it was the emotional “serious moment” before ‘Hollywood or Burst’ that resonated most. Capaldi urged the crowd: “When you feel low… promise me you will put one foot in front of the other.”
The encore was a pure celebration. Capaldi, ever the fan of the greats, led the room through a massive cover of David Bowie’s ‘All the Young Dudes’, seamlessly weaving in a snippet of Oasis’ ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’. The party vibes continued with a cover of The Cure’s ‘Friday I’m In Love’, before ending the night on a romantic high with the purple-haze-soaked ‘No One in the World’.
Peter Capaldi didn’t just play a set in Nottingham; he invited us into his world. It was a night of great magnificence, indeed.
0 Comments