Not many bands have a pre-set DJ warming up the crowd, but not many bands are Bombay Bicycle Club. The indie stalwarts are in town, following the release of sixth album My Big Day last year, and the evening has an air of celebration too. Why wouldn’t it though? It’s the last night of the band’s UK tour and the Great Hall is absolutely rammed. Just ignore that it’s a Sunday, much like 99% of people in the room.
In terms of introductions, it’s a big one tonight: the lights go out, the band appear, music plays, frontman Jack Steadman sets off confetti and the band, joined by a horn section and some others, break into Just A Little More Time and I Want To Be Your Only Pet. “This is our last show of the tour, we’re so happy to be here…” Steadman says before Feel – and there’s certainly some last night surprises, but more on those in a bit. Steadman is not shy either talking to the crowd tonight, joking about his setlist being printed in the “biggest possible font” because of a mishap the previous night before Tekken 2.
There are so many moments of perfect synergy between the band, who are ridiculously tight, and the crowd, who are full of love – see nearly every word being sung back for Luna, or the sheer elation during Lights Out, Words Gone. Back to it being the last night of the tour: Steadman lets the crowd know that to celebrate, BBC are going to play some songs they haven’t played until now, namely first album cuts Dust On The Ground and What If. Flaws, too, is played – according to Steadman – so each of their records had representation in tonight’s show.
“It’s hard for me to sound sincere,” continues the vocalist, “but thank you so much for making the last night of the tour so fun,” before a glorious Shuffle ends the main set tonight. There’s a two-song encore in the form of Turn The World On, written for Steadman’s two-year-old son, and a joyful Always Like This ending the night. There’s simply no amount of words that could accurately describe the sheer amount of love, happiness, and elation shown in the room tonight and rightfully so. Tonight is a reminder of just how bloody good Bombay Bicycle Club are.
Bombay Bicycle Club, Great Hall, Cardiff University Students Union, Sun 18 Feb
words JOSHUA WILLIAMS photos OWIN WONG
