“If you know the words, sing along, and if you don’t know the words…sing along.” This was Guy Garvey’s repeated joke/mantra throughout Elbow‘s show at Brooklyn Steel on Monday night — but it was clear just about everybody there knew the words. This was their first NYC show in eight years, and it was a night of joyous, anthemic catharsis as only Elbow could deliver.
The most transcendent moment came at the end with “One Day Like This,” their biggest hit and standout from the Mercury Prize–winning 2008 album The Seldom Seen Kid. It’s been Elbow’s closer for more than a decade, and Garvey played conductor, orchestrating three separate vocal parts from the audience. He spent a few minutes teaching different sections of the club their parts and seemed genuinely taken aback by the force with which we sang — and by some of the unsolicited harmonies people added. Once he was satisfied, he had us hold the last note as the band kicked in.
“One Day Like This” is a uniquely Elbow song — a giant hug about being hungover and realizing you’d fallen in love the night before. There are moments of doubt and self-effacing humor, and Garvey is great at capturing the little details while still delivering a chorus that has likely become many couples’ “our song” over the last 15 years. It’s their biggest track by a mile — one I don’t actively listen to much anymore — but with the whole room singing in parts, that chorus of “Oh, anyway, it’s looking like a beautiful day” still gets you right there.
The thing is, Elbow have a million of these songs; any of them could close the show. And they keep writing more, finding new ways to present them — like last year’s excellent AUDIO VERTIGO, which added more percussive elements to their sound. The band have actually released three albums since their last NYC appearance, but they spread the wealth across nearly their whole discography (though nothing from 2003’s A Cast of Thousands or 2019’s Giants of All Sizes), delivering a very crowd-pleasing set.
AUDIO VERTIGO cuts “Things I’ve Been Telling Myself for Years,” “Lover’s Leap,” and “Balu” were all enthusiastically received, as were “Sober” and “Adriana Again” off their brand new EP, plus “The Seldom Seen Kid” from 2021’s Flying Dream No. 1. There were many beautiful moments to count, but highlights included “Mirrorball” with the room drenched in actual mirrorball light, Asleep at the Back deep cut “Scattered Black and Whites” (its first play in three years), another Garvey-conducted sing-along for “Sober,” and “Grounds for Divorce,” which had the night’s second-biggest sing-along thanks to its “whoa oh oh” hook.
It was a near-perfect night. Elbow, please don’t wait another eight years to play here.
You can check out Elbow’s Brooklyn Steel setlist and watch full video of the show below.
SETLIST: Elbow @ Brooklyn Steel 9/29/2025
Things I’ve Been Telling Myself for Years
Lovers’ Leap
Adriana Again
The Bones of You
Kindling
My Sad Captains
Balu
The Seldom Seen Kid
Mirrorball
Station Approach
The Birds
Scattered Black and Whites
Magnificent (She Says)
Sober
Grounds for Divorce
Encore:
Lippy Kids
One Day Like This