An unexpectedly rowdy night with Bombay Bicycle Club at Pryzm, Kingston

When you think of Bombay Bicycle Club, do you imagine mosh pits? Exactly, me neither. So when I went to see Bombay Bicycle Club last night, I was horribly surprised that a mosh pit formed at exactly the same time the keyboard started playing Eat, Sleep, Wake.

Sidenote: This time we went one step further than a sock hat. Some wrinkly, pointy, disgusting elf hat; imagine Noddy’s hat merged with the sorting hat from Harry Potter. Why?

Before we really dive in I want to express how much of bloody nightmare this whole gig was. I’m a bit of an idiot when it comes to gigs held by Banquet Records at Pryzm in Kingston. I’ve got this sudden panic that it will sell out instantly, so my purchasing decisions are funky. So funky that I bought one ticket on its own for £19. Then I saw that it hadn’t sold out so I went back on and bought a CD and Ticket combo for £20 thinking I could get a refund on the bad deal that was the single ticket. I couldn’t, obviously. So here I am, with two tickets. 

Forty quid down and desperately begging my colleagues to come with me, I eventually find a recruit and we set off on our adventure, drinking tinnies on a packed commuter train and my mate is slyly filming a famous Instagrammer she’s spotted. 

We push ourselves to the front of the rammed venue. Someone had the audacity to tell me that their friend had gone to the bar and will be returning soon so I couldn’t stand where I was. I shake my head and brace myself for the show ahead. 

The band enter at about 8 pm.

A huge circle starts to open up on the dancefloor, ready for the second impending mosh pit. I’m pretty sure I could hear that twat saying that their friend was actually standing there.

Jack Steadman announces that bassist, Ed Nash wrote ‘I Worry Bout You’ and they proceed to play the first unreleased (at the time) song from their new record Everything Else Has Gone Wrong. You can tell, it’s got a complex rhythm that makes it difficult to bop to, but it’s nice to listen to. Ed looked happy, and that made me happy. He’s my fave.

‘Good Day’ sounded better than it does on the album. There was a lot more energy behind the words in the live performance.

They’re actually pretty good live. Everything works. I didn’t hear one wrong note, to the point where I questioned whether they were miming.

They’re also an incredibly jolly bunch. The backing singer was loving it (she was my second fave, but only because I didn’t realise she was there until halfway through the gig when the keyboard player stepped to the side). 

The light, airy, happy, high pitched guitar gets a bit annoying after a while. I can’t help but think that they’ve definitely never had to ask their pal to buy them a pint in Wetherspoons because they’re skint before. 

Jack announces that if we use a VPN and direct it from New Zealand, we can actually stream the album now. I was tempted to whack my headphones on and test him.

To make the evening even more special, we find out it’s Jack’s birthday and I just as reluctantly sing Happy Birthday as I would for a colleague that I’ve never really spoken to before.

‘Luna’ has always sat well with me. In fact, it’s probably my favourite Bombay Bicycle Club track. Mainly because of the backing singer. I don’t really know what it is, but ever since the show, it’s been on repeat. It sounded just as good live.

We, unsurprisingly, finish on ‘Always Like This’ and guess what?! Yep, another mosh pit. It received, by far, the biggest reception from fans. Ed looked almost saddened that a song from 2009 was still their best song. 

As we start grooving an older woman yells at my friend not to spill their strawberry Koppaberg on her white shirt. We stop bopping. Show over.

I go for a piss in Spoons across the road and my mate has a conversation with the Instagrammer from the train.

Overall, a good show. They are the teenage indie band they always were, and that’s fine. It was good to see a few older faces in the crowd as well. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. I’m a fan of gigs at Pryzm Kingston. 

Shame it’s such a trek to get there.

Click this link if you want to see more of Bombay Bicycle Club live