Bombay Bicycle Club Shine on NME Awards Tour in Bournemouth
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Written by Matt Hamm
Typical of the magazine, NME’s yearly Awards Tour in association with Shockwaves was packed full with the cream of the crop of the the indie world. Bournemouth’s o2 Academy played host on this occasion, treating its guests to an evening of spilt beer and sweaty teenagers, as the The Drums, The Big Pink, Bombay Bicycle Club & Maccabees showcased their songs in style.
US based NME Band of 2010The Drums, opened proceedings with their surfer-not surfer sound, jumping and bouncing around the venue in indie-pop delight. In an interesting concoction of the Cure meets the slightly psychedelic, the four-piece held their own in front of a sold out venue. Let’s Go Surfing, the band’s debut single, threw the Bournemouth crowd forward 5 months to summer sun by the beach. Whilst I Felt Stupid brought a little light to a rainy evening by the coast.
Flipping the previous act on its head, came The Big Pink. Loud, proud and set to make your ears bleed with musical fight, the electric duo – joined by a number of musicians for the evening – delivered a packed punch. Mostly known for their track Dominos, used in the XBox 360 ads, the band had a hell of a lot more to offer than a repetitive indie-pop song. Too Young To Love beat with monstrous bass, pounding at the door for attention. A door answered by Crystal Visions with its cascading wall of sound. But the band really bought the house down with A Brief History Of Love, both the title of their debut album and their best song of the set, managing to grasp the audience’s attention with stunning aplomb.
Well and truly warmed, the crowd began to fizz with eager anticipation for Bombay Bicycle Club. The London lot, who are building a mighty reputation as a fearsomely amazing live act, only added more weight to their confident stage ability. Bombay, were quite simply brilliant. They bubbled with intensity and a biting heavy bass that scrawled attitude into the Bournemouth o2 Academy walls. Evening/Morning thrust itself into the audience with Placebo-like ferocity, as fan favourite Cancel On Me, sparked a mini riot amongst the adoring crowd. Current single Always Like This raised the proverbial roof with its catchy riff and irresistible sing-a-long lyrics. Though Dust On The Ground really left an impression stomping the band’s converse shoe print heavily into the evening.
An incredibly tough act to follow, NME turned to one band that are impossible to dislike, the Maccabees. Veteran’s compared to the previous three - they have two albums, to the other’s one – the guys from South London topped the bill with assured confidence. Sparkling in their element (almost everyone in the audience was a fan) the Maccabees treated the academy to a lovely mix of new, old and fan favourite. Latchmere and Lego were lively scraps, thumping with indie cool. Whilst more recent hit records Love You Better and No Kind Words provided something deeper and more epic. But 2007’s Precious Time ran home with the gold in celebratory style. Reminding the crowd just why this South London band headlined 2010’s Shockwaves NME Awards Tour.
Stereoboard Rating - 4/5.
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