On March 2nd, Good Neighbours, a band that’s rapidly been growing since their formation in 2024, gave a concert in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. As the queue grew longer, some fans said that they’d been in the city centre since 4 in the afternoon, hoping to get a good spot. And a good spot they found, because as the venue slowly filled up, the first few rows were made up of Good Neighbours’ biggest fans. Later arriving visitors consisted mostly of festival goers and friends looking for a good time.
The evening began with support from Kilu, a 22 year old self taught singer-songwriter born in London and now based in Hackney. Making music since late 2021, Kilu has often spoken about relying on songwriting to get through some of the lowest points in his life. That emotional honesty carries through his stripped back production style, where raw feeling takes centre stage.
Kilu and his band stepped on stage for a quick soundcheck before diving straight into the opening track ‘Marry Me To Dopamine’. The crowd instantly cheered as he shouted the city’s name through the microphone. After the first song, he greeted the audience and asked who was excited for Good Neighbours, joking that tuning his guitar is his biggest pet peeve as it normally takes him twenty minutes. He then introduced the band joining him on stage: Jacob May on bass, Ayman Sinada on drums, and Adi Hartemann on guitar. With the introductions complete, Kilu launched into ‘I Don’t Want To Die Today’, casually explaining to the audience that he simply “did not want to die today.” His relaxed humour continued as he shared stories about his pre-show ritual of pooping his pants and encouraged the crowd to shout “Good Neighbours” as loudly as possible so Amsterdam could compete with Belgium for being the loudest fans.
Before playing ‘Verden’, Kilu explained that the title means ‘World’ in Norwegian. His set was filled with little personal stories, including the moment that his song ‘How Did They Know’ had been played on the TV show Love Island, which he’d been notified of through a text from his sister. Another anecdote was shared when he explained that both he and Jacob May had been broken up with a few years ago, which inspired the song ‘Ex’. He also pointed out that May is still single, which earned plenty of cheers and comically timed cat calling whistles from the crowd. During ‘Ex’, phone flashlights lit up across the room while the audience gently swayed their arms from left to right, creating a warm and intimate moment. Kilu kept the moment up by once again making the crowd shout “Good Neighbours” before wrapping things up.
He reintroduced the band a final time and announced the final song of the evening ‘Push’. The crowd responded with playful boos, clearly happy to stay in the mellow atmosphere that had formed during the set. The gentle indie tones felt almost like the soundtrack to a warm summer evening, making Kilu a perfect opener for what was still to come.
After a half hour intermission it was finally time for Good Neighbours and they wasted no time getting started. The band jumped straight into ‘Suburbs’ and the energy in the room instantly lifted another level. Singer Oli Fox greeted the crowd and asked how everyone was doing. The loud cheers said it all. “I know it’s a Monday night, who cares, we’re about to have a good time,” he said before launching into ‘Skipping Stones’. The crowd was quickly drawn into the band’s feel-good indie sound. During ‘Bloom’, Fox asked everyone to clap along to the intro, and the room happily followed along. When the chorus came around, the audience sang it right back to the band at full volume. A few songs later, he paused for a moment to check in with the crowd again and asked everyone to give it up for their support act. The cheers for Kilu echoed through the room.
“It’s been ages since we’ve been here, so thank you for coming out. It means the world,” Oli told the crowd. He also promised that whatever issues people might have walked in with tonight, they would leave feeling better. Only four songs into the set, that promise already seemed true. The room was buzzing with energy as the band’s catchy melodies kept everyone dancing. The good vibes kept going as ‘People Need People’ had the crowd clapping along during the bridge. Not long after that, the band launched into ‘Walk Walk Walk’. Fox asked if everyone was ready to move, which was funny considering nobody had really stopped moving since the band started. The crowd jumped along enthusiastically, and with an invocation from Fox, even crouched down before the final part so they could all jump up together.
In between songs, the band spoke about how playing at Melkweg had always been something they wanted to do, so finally standing on that stage clearly meant a lot to them. Fox also asked who in the crowd had seen them live before and then jokingly followed it up with “and who’s been dragged along”, which got a lot of laughs from the audience. Things then slowed down a little for ‘The Buzz’, which Fox introduced as the only sad song on the album. Fans held up blue-lit flashlights while the room grew quiet. Everyone listened closely, creating a more intimate moment. After that, the tempo picked up again. The crowd clapped along to the intro of ‘Wonderful Life’, and after ‘Kids Don’t Sleep’, the band took a moment to introduce themselves. Guitarist James Koates, drummer Duncan Brookfield, keyboard player Teresa Origone, bassist Scott Verrill, and, of course, singer Oli Fox were the sole reason for everyone’s cheerful medicine music tonight.
One of the funnier moments came just before ‘Keep It Up’ when Fox got the crowd to play a little clapping game, purposely tricking them into clapping on the wrong beat. This little interaction had the whole room laughing. Later, the first notes of ‘Home’ turned into one of the biggest sing-alongs of the night. Fox asked the crowd to sing the chorus back to the band, and they happily did. Some fans even joked that they did not realise it was their song before the band started playing what is still their biggest international hit. After leaving the stage for a short moment, the band returned for an encore and closed the night with ‘Daisies’. The final moments were full of energy as Fox and Verrill joined in drumming on Brookfield’s kit, truly closing the night off with a bang.
By the time the lights came back on, it was clear everyone had had a great night. The crowd spent nearly the entire show dancing, jumping, and singing along. Kilu had set the tone with an emotional and personal opening set, while Good Neighbours brought the energy that kept the room buzzing from start to finish. It felt carefree, uplifting, and full of songs that stick in your head long after the show ends. The perfect feel-good music for long drives, warm evenings, and memories that stay with you until the afterlife.
