After a mammoth year touring their most recent album So Long, See You Tomorrow, Bombay Bicycle Club have definitely
earned their place in UK music history. While many of their peers who emerged
in the early noughties have disappeared, floundering after failing to live up
to their exciting debuts, the band have gone from strength to strength, finding
fans in both young indie-pop lovers and more discerning musos.
Support tonight comes from Peace, who look a little lost on the giant stage with no backdrop
behind them, only a huge curtain. They rattle out hits like Lovesick and Wraith, which are still sounding fresh, as well as a couple of new
tracks. Money and Gen Strange don’t quite have the same
instant catchiness as their previous efforts, but are still danceable enough to
get the excited crowd moving.
After a quick 25 minute set from their support, it’s time
for the main attraction. Bombay Bicycle Club open with Overdone, which effortlessly blends in to Come To. The four piece have expanded to include keys, backing
vocals and even a brass trio, which allows their now more mature and complex
sound to fill the rafters of the Apollo. Throughout the show mesmerising
visuals from dancing skeletons, rattlesnakes and even the band members
themselves dance around on huge projections, tying the performances together
and creating a captivating stage show.
Frontman Jack Steadman encourages the crowd to sing along
for Shuffle and they gladly oblige.
The band now have a fairly extensive back catalogue, meaning each and every
song so far is a hit. For Lights Out,
Words Gone and Home By Now backing
vocalist Liz Lawrence takes centre stage, and the two singers complement each
other perfectly. After a rendition of Wherever,
Whenever , the group treat the audience to a selection of songs from their
acoustic record Flaws, reworked to fit
the bigger venues on this tour, as the band members switch their instruments
and stage positions around. The flashy
visuals are paused, and theatre lights litter the stage like an unfinished set.
For fan favourite The Giantess there
are three drummers on stage at once, adding something extra special to an
already charming moment.
The whole set really feels like a reward for old fans that
have been there from the beginning. As if to cement this, the band perform Evening, Morning and Dust On The Ground with just the original
four members. Halfway through the latter song Steadman pauses and lets the
rapturous applause last a few seconds before launching into the song’s
remaining bars. Tonight’s gig is filled with goosebump-inducing moments like
this, and the atmosphere is truly triumphant. After a stunning version of How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep, the
horn trio re-emerges to add a touch of funk to the proceedings, and a cover of Robyn’s With Every Heartbeat at first seems an unusual choice but somehow
works.
As the show begins to reach a climactic end , Feel, Luna and Always Like This
send the audience into a frenzy, fuelled by exploding streamers and even some
pyrotechnics; a far cry from those first Bombay gigs of nearly a decade ago.
After one last confetti cannon, the band leaves the stage for a few moments
before returning for their encore. What
If and Carry Me sound anthemic,
and are a perfect way to end an amazing night.
Bombay Bicycle Club have clearly put a fantastic amount of
effort into linking their aesthetics with their sound, and tonight it has
definitely paid off, making what could be described as a slightly disjointed
set into a seamless live performance. Hopefully they will continue in this vein
and keep creating spectacular live shows as well as outstanding albums.
0 comments:
Post a Comment