My mood upon arrival at the venue was somewhat agitated. An incident that involved my visiting brothers locking us out of my bedroom (where the tickets for this gig were to be found) had resulted in us being £50 poorer and late. Fortunately we only missed two songs of Rae Morris’ supporting set, which was both beautiful and atmospheric – reminiscent of Daughter’s haunting sound.
Bombay Bicycle Club [9/10] walked onto the stage to an extended intro of their latest album’s opening track, “Overdone”. This allowed the band to show off their heavier guitar work early into the night, and the pace was kept blisteringly fast with no stopping for the first three songs performed. Renowned for being shy on stage, this actually works in the band’s favour as they let their music talk for them and squeeze so many songs into a ninety minute set. The stage and lighting design was sublime; matching the magic lantern theme of their latest album artwork.
Their set featured songs from across their four albums with a live twist as a brass section is featured in many of their live tracks. “Always Like This” had a wonderful Jazzy with a hint of Ska flavour, with the whole crowd dancing away. The band’s more dance enthused songs were perhaps the highlight of the night as Rae Morris returned to sing with Jack Steadman on latest single “Luna”. The night finished with “Carry Me” which was a perfect way for both the band and the crowd to use up the last of their energy.
Ben Rider
