Review: Bombay Bicycle Club play triumphant Latitude warm-up gig at Roadmender

Before launching into mid set track Dust On The Ground, Bombay Bicycle Club singer Jack Steadman asked a capacity Roadmender, “Is there anyone here who likes 2008 indie music”?

He was met with a rapturous response, unlike anything many of those inside the Northampton venue will have heard for about 16 months.

It’s impossible to ignore the significance of the band’s headline gig at the Roadmender on Friday.

While Bombay Bicycle Club were in town playing a warm-up gig ahead of appearing at the Latitude Festival, it also marked the first week live music had returned to the Roadmender in nearly 500 days.

Two days prior, Fontaines D.C. - the first band back on the venue’s stage - played an incredible show and Bombay Bicycle Club picked up where they left off with another triumphant headline set.

Joining Bombay Bicycle Club was Mr Jukes and Barney Artist – the former the moniker of Steadman who was on bass duties while the latter led the venue through a lesson in hip-hop.

Returning to the aforementioned cheer preceding Dust On The Ground.

Any band with a sizeable back catalogue will always receive plaudits for dipping into its debut album.

However, for the 800 packed inside the Roadmender, it really seemed more about the sheer excitement of being back in a room and experiencing live music.

It was one of many instances during Bombay’s set where you almost had to stop and pinch yourself as a reminder of what you were actually seeing.

As for the music itself, Bombay Bicycle Club drew mainly from their latest album, 2020’s Everything Else Has Gone Wrong, it’s 2014 predecessor So Long, See You Tomorrow and 2011’s A Different Kind Of Fix.

After Opening with Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing but You), Overdone was among the early highlights, which set the crowd into a bouncing frenzy.

Steadman described Selena Gomez as his ‘favourite artist of all time’ ahead of introducing a cover of Lose You to Love Me, while the likes of Lights Out, Word Gone and Evening / Morning were other highlights of their set.

At times bolstered to a nine piece featuring keys, backing singers and a brass section, Bombay Bicycle Club are masters of the indie genre – if arguably better when their songs lean towards a faster and little heavier pace.

The irony of releasing an album called Everything Else Has Gone Wrong prior to a global pandemic wasn’t lost on Steadman, stating finally, “everything now is great.”

The band returned for an encore of Always Like This before leaving the stage to deafening cheers.

The sheer exhilaration of having live music back cannot be understated and Bombay Bicycle Club couldn’t have scripted a better return.

Bombay Bicycle Club played:

Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing but You)

Is It Real

Overdone

Shuffle

Lose You to Love Me (Selena Gomez cover)

Feel

I Can Hardly Speak

Your Eyes

Lights Out, Words Gone

Home by Now

Dust on the Ground

Evening/Morning

Good Day

How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep

Luna

Everything Else Has Gone Wrong

Carry Me

Encore:

Always Like This