Photo Credit Gemma Laming
Bombay Bicycle Club Barrowland Glasgow 29th January 2020
Bombay Bicycle Club inhabited the Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow for two nights in a row and entertained onlookers with old-ish kicks and new tunes. They’re currently touring with their newest album Everything Else Has Gone Wrong and have regrouped after being on a hiatus since 2016.
Bombay Bicycle Club had 2 supporting acts along with them; Liz Lawrence and The Big Moon. Both suitable bands for getting people to move their feet and setting the mood. When it was time for the main act to come on stage, 6 band members, including support act Liz Lawrence, appeared in white shirts – as if not to distract from the music. Lead vocalist and guitarist Jack Steadman looked out at the audience and thanked them for being able to play two nights in Glasgow. They opened their show with the Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing but you) from their newest album – the audience was with them from the beginning. Dancing was highly encouraged, and folk enjoyed having their band back. Soft guitar notes filled the room and devoted fans sang along.
They indulged the Barrowland venue in a few songs from the album So Long, See You Tomorrow; Overdone and It’s Alright Now. Steadman was very engaging with the crowd and again thanked their Glasgow fans again for having them. He then introduced a brass band on stage and said, “I think we’re a bit warmed up now,” and the intro for Feel, spilled out of the brass instruments. Band members and audience danced along enthusiastically, and it proved to be a favourite for many.
Reliving their older album, A Different Kind of Fix, they played Your Eyes. Jamie MacColl, second guitarist, joined in on talking to the crowd, and got everyone clapping along. The clapping started again later on without any encouragement. MacColl took to the microphone and addressed the crowd and teased unknowingly by saying “It’s time to shuffle our feet”. The crowd cheered on, but he shut their hopes down with “We’re not playing shuffle.” All was forgiven, when the recognisable Lights out, Words Gone blared through the venue.
They managed to make their way around more songs from their debut album, cunningly transitioned from Good Day into How Can you Swallow So Much Sleep which then led to Shuffle – well deserved after MacColl’s tease.
The guys got all around their best played tunes and satisfied the crowd. With 22 songs played altogether, including 2 for encore, it went well over the suggested time for the event. All musicians and band members seemed to genuinely enjoy their time on stage, with smiles on their faces and light jumps; it was contagious and rather humble.
