Concert Review: Bombay Bicycle Club

Bombay-Bicycle-Club1

By: Joceline De La Torre
Bombay Bicycle Club
El Rey Theatre
16 April, 2014

April is best known as, “Coachella season” for music, art, and style enthusiasts alike. For local Angelenos in Los Angeles and its surrounding areas, it is best known as “Localchella.” Wednesday night was a promising night for Goldenvoice’s “Localchella” with acts such as MGMT, and The 1975 performing across town in local venues; but performing live from El Rey Theater on iconic Wilshire Boulevard was English, indie based, Bombay Bicycle Club, with special guests Bear Hands and a guest appearance by Liz Lawrence.

As I made my way past the long line waiting to enter the venue I knew it was going to a show to remember. Upon entering the venue, it was set up specifically to accompany the cover art of Bombay Bicycle Club’s recent studio release So Long, See You Tomorrow with  signature circles. As the clock approached ten, the circles showed signs of sparking animation. Soon after emerged Jack Steadman, the lead vocalist of Bombay Bicycle Club.

Bombay started their hour long set with “Overdone” and “It’s Alright Now” which happen to be in chronological order off their new studio album  So Long, See You Tomorrow. As the show advanced, not a single person in the room was standing still, the room swayed to the upbeat set and its accompanying ever changing lights which helped set a particular mood for each song. It was the first time I’ve seen an LA crowd appear this lively and simultaneously uninterested in whether they captured the set on camera or not. Mid set, the band played singles off their previous studio albums, which was when singer , Liz Lawrence, made an appearance to cover the vocals remarkably sang by Lucy Rose in the third studio album A Different Kind of Fix. As the show approached the end, an acoustic cover of “Whenever, Wherever” was performed which built up to a final transition into a high geared performance of “So Long, See You Tomorrow” which the crowd could not get enough of, causing them to push for an encore of “What If” and “Carry Me.”

As a whole, the show was an experience within itself. Bombay Bicycle Club did an amazing job of combining visual aesthetics with lighting and live music to create, again, an experience unlike any other. After concluding their final set at Coachella 2014, they will continue to tour across the US for their new studio album, “So Long, See You Tomorrow”.