Sunday 20th June 2010 @ Louisiana, Bristol
With Support From: The Bird And The Magicians, The Terrabangs, Guiltless Adam

Despite what has been a less than exciting performance from the England team in the World Cup so far, football fever had hit the Louisiana big time for A Day At The Races’ “Official World Cup Gig” where support was specially selected by the band to celebrate the tournament.

The Bird And The Magicians opened the night. Despite their age, the young foursome put on a consistent set of intertwining guitar lines. The obligatory football cover of the night was a cheeky rendition of the Match Of The Day theme which, tongue-in-cheek as it was, set the mood for the night. Highlight of the set was their Horrors-esque Slap On Your Face. Groovy yet sinister rhythms and lovely lady vocals from singer/bassist Betty Belsten were a treat for dancing feet.

Following them was sort of a comeback gig for Bristol band, The Terrabangs. With a new line-up and new songs they blasted through a set of hard, grungy noise with barely time to tune. Guitarist James Stockhausen kept proceedings lively by jousting about stage and not letting up on feedback. New song Hazy went down well with some tasty slide guitar reminiscent of Queens Of The Stoneage. The “least football band in Bristol” made special effort for the gig by covering the tediously linked in Hocus Pocus by Focus.

Guiltless Adam were next up with some epic indie. More admirable for their songs than their engagement, they steamed through their set of anthems. Guitars drenched in reverb and frontman Jack Bristow singing from the heart, the authenticity ran through the performance, from speedy Jenny’s Song to slow builder Flags climaxing the set. No football song from them but all was forgiven; shoe gaze and Vindaloo would have never worked.

Just as the whistle blew on Brazils’ win over the Ivory Coast, old favourites, A Day At The Races, take to the stage. Attired in matching England shirts, their classic indie-pop made them as lovable as ever. Frontman George Rigden was naturally joking with the crowd about his heartbreaking crushes that are so often the subject of songs. Sanjay Patel added nice touches with his dynamic lead guitar playing. Their songs are hits. Their automatically catchy choruses of such songs like Mixed Signals and Patricia (that’s Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Patricia!) make them a joy to hear and sing along to.

Taking a chance to debut new material did not disappoint either. As they masterminded the night, the band took great joy in covering Three Lions which went down a treat in the typical all singing, all dancing style we love from The Races. Having been this together for a long time and taking steps out of the Bristol scene, how long can it be before we see A Day At The Races take on the dizzying heights of jangley guitar pop stardom?

www.myspace.com/adayattheracesmusic

Chris Mulligan
Photos by Tom Moore