Free at Noon Flashback: The Heavy delivers a high-energy set for World Cafe Live

The Heavy | Photo by Breanna Keohane for WXPN

World Cafe Live was full of high energy Friday as UK natives The Heavy walked out on stage for Free at Noon. The funk band came out to debut their new album Hurt & The Merciless for Philly, a stop before they headed out to the West Coast for The Coachella Valley Festival.

The band started out the set with “The Apology” off of the new album. Vocalist and frontman Kelvin Swaby interacted with the crowd right away, causing fans to dance from the very first note. The lively crowd continued through the entire set, feeding off of the interaction from Swaby.

Other songs off of the new album that were played throughout the set were ones like “Not the One” and “Last Confession,” which Swaby dedicated to anyone in the crowd who needed a little extra prayer. The album plays off of the James Brown-vibe that the band has always possessed, but with a little more of an indie-rock sound, containing guitar-heavy songs and drum parts in songs like “Since You Been Gone.”

The Heavy finished up the set with their well-known, fan-favorite “How You Like Me Now?” off of their 2009 album The House That Dirt Built, and the crowd went wild. The band can be found along the West Coast the next couple weeks before continuing their tour in Europe. Check out the photo gallery and listen back to The Heavy’s full performance below.

1.   The Apology
2. Not the One
3. Miss California
4. Since You Been Gone
5. Turn Up
6.  Last Confession
7. What Happened to the Love?
8. How You Like Me Now?