MUSIC FEATURE: Concert Pass: Of Indian Restaurant Chains and Magic
3:47 PMby Czar Justiniani
1SLP
If you’re familiar with the songs, “How
Can You Swallow So Much Sleep?”, “Lights Out, Words Gone”, “Luna”, and “Feel”,
then you probably know Bombay Bicycle Club. The band was composed of Suren de
Saram, Jamie MacColl, and Jack Steadman, with an additional keyboardist in 2005
when they performed for a school assembly, under the band name The Canals. They
kept changing their band name until they settled with Bombay Bicycle Club,
after an (now nonexistent) Indian restaurant chain in Britain. In 2006, Ed Nash
completed the four-piece band from Crouch End, London; with Ed on bass, Suren
on drums, Jamie on guitar, and Jack on guitar, keyboard, and lead vocals. Louis
Bhose usually takes on the keyboard during live shows, wherein Jack prefers to
play the guitar more. Background vocalists (separately) include Rae Morris,
Amber Wilson, Lucy Rose, and Liz Lawrence.
Bombay Bicycle Club have already
produced four albums to date, namely: I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose
(2009), Flaws (2010), A Different Kind of Fix (2011), and So Long, See You
Tomorrow (2014); as well as three EPs, namely: The Boy I Used To Be (2007,
February), How We Are (2007, October), and iTunes Festival – London 2010
(2010).
Though the wait for the release of
their fourth and latest album, So Long,
See You Tomorrow, was quite long, it proved to be worth it. It has earned
the band their first number 1 album in the UK chart – a title it rightfully
deserved. Having been a product heavily influenced and inspired by Jack’s trips
to Holland, Turkey, India, and Tokyo, he managed to come up with various sounds
and uplifting rhythms. If Jack wanted most of the songs from the album to make
people want to move and dance, he definitely succeeded. And if Jack wanted the
album to be a shift from their previous albums while still maintaining the
sound that was purely Bombay, he succeeded in that, too. They managed to
balance the components and aspects that compose their music.
What amazes me with this band is
that they try to dabble and dip their toes into different genres, and whatever
they think works for them actually works for them. Their genres range from
acoustic, electronic, and world music, to indie rock, folk rock, alternative
rock, and blues rock (according to Wikipedia). Each album has distinct songs
that could make me feel whatever emotion it is that each song portrays, whether
it’s sad or happy or sleepy or ecstatic or chill – you name it. They construct
music as a form of art and it shows, even through their music videos or their
live sets. They’re also humble and down-to-earth lads who never forget their
roots and keep their friendship as solid as possible.
(From L-R; Suren de Saram, Jamie
MacColl, Ed Nash, and Jack Steadman)
Last July 23, 2014, I was able to
see them, one of my favourite bands, live, in World Trade Center, brought by Karpos Multimedia.
I knew I had to watch them because
I’ve loved them from a long time now – I discovered them through late-night
ventures within the depths of Youtube. Plus, I was – is – an administrator of Bombay Bicycle Club
Philippines, along with two others, and missing the
show would have been a complete bummer. It was very hectic because it was a
Wednesday, and my dismissal was at around 6 PM; I had a scheduled
meet-and-greet (that I had won on a contest on Instagram – sadly, folks, being
an admin of a fanbase doesn’t necessarily grant you perks, unless the concert
organizers make you carry out a few special tasks, i.e. selling tickets and
putting up posters, etc.) that would start at 7:15 PM; it was raining; and,
inevitably, there was traffic. I didn’t think I would arrive on time, and true
enough, I didn’t. I was already internally panicking on the way to World Trade,
and when I saw 7:15 pass the clock, my eyes watered. What was the use of
winning it if it doesn’t happen anyway? It was like having your happiness
ripped away from you in a snap, just as soon as it had been given to you.
My luck was running out. I was so
confused and devastated; I lost my chance at meeting a band I loved and
admired, I couldn’t find my friends, and a long line of people made me terribly
socially anxious and dizzy. If it wasn’t for my friend (a co-admin who had been
to the meet-and-greet before me) goading me to check the Karpos table and ask
for assistance from the staff there, I wouldn’t have been led by a really nice
Karpos Kuya to the meet-and-greet area. He asked me, in a quite concerned
manner, why I was late, and I explained myself. “My dismissal was at 6!” I
said. “It was raining and there was traffic. I’m a Thomasian; you know how it’s
like there when it rains.” I kept thanking him for helping me because I thought
my chances of meeting Bombay Bicycle Club already came from a solid one-hundred
percent to a staggering, gutting zero. Karpos Kuya told me that this could be a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I should be able to experience it once it
has been handed out to me.
When we got to the meet-and-greet
section, somewhere behind the stage, I easily spotted the President of Karpos, Stephanie Uy.
(I cannot fully express my utmost gratitude to this person. Again, and a
hundred times more, thank you, Ate Steph, if ever you get to read this haha!
Thank you kahit napakakulit ko huhu.) I knew her because, being an admin of BBC
PH, I have e-mailed her a few times before, regarding the concert and the
ticket sales. It was very intimidating because she asked Karpos Kuya who I was
and what we were doing there, and he explained that I was part of the
meet-and-greet and I was just late. Steph had an annoyed look and replied,
“Last na yan, ha. Next time, ‘wag ka na magdala ng iba pa.” I thought she hated
me for disrupting their system.
However, I had a feeling that it was
almost my turn for the meet-and-greet, and when Mr. Magic Liwanag,
the photographer, already called out, “Next!” I was ushered to my right. And
there they were – all four of them standing so tall and majestically. I was so
starstruck, that goes without saying. I remember I kept squealing, “You’re so
tall, oh my goodness!” and they all just chuckled at my remark. I couldn’t move
so I froze in the middle, with Jamie and Suren to my right, and Ed and Jack to
my left. Jamie and Ed each had an arm around me, and each of mine around them.
I smiled victoriously and gratefully, knowing that my previous zero percent
chance reclaimed its hundred-percent crown, and that I wouldn’t have been where
I had stood, if not for the people who helped me get there and also for my own
efforts. They were not at all wasted, thank God.
(Yes, that’s me right smack in the
middle, haha! Look at that height difference!)
Mr. Liwanag took the photos so
quickly that I hardly felt them being taken. I just smiled as if my life
depended on it, facial muscles contracting, despite the problems that day faced
me with. Right after the shutter clicked and the light flashed as the last
photo was taken, I asked them, Bombay, if I could hug each of them. Suren was
already extending an arm out to reach for me and said, “Sure!” He had to bend slightly
to hug me properly. Jamie was an adorable, excitable teddy bear personified. He
anticipated the hug by putting both arms up then locked me in place when I
hugged him. “It’s always a pleasure!” he grinned. Ed was the shortest of them;
his hair was in a bun and it smelled ridiculously like mixed fruits. I told him
I liked his hair and he smiled as he said, “Thank you.” Last but not the least,
I hugged Jack and told him I loved his voice. I couldn’t think of anything else
to say because he was looking at me eye-to-eye, but he smiled and thanked me as
well. And just like that, the bouncers led me outside, to the concert area. My
night wasn’t over yet; we were all still to be serenaded by the band.
My friends (the fellow admins I had
mentioned) and I were positioned by the right side of the stage. Opening for
Bombay Bicycle Club that night was a band that is easily a Filipino pride in
the indie-rock music industry, making their way to success – She’s Only
Sixteen. They kept the crowd amused with their beats and riffs. Lead vocalist
Roberto Sena sang his lungs out and gave everyone a good time as we all waited
for the headliner act.
(She’s Only Sixteen doing a great
job at keeping everyone pumped up.)
At around 9:30 PM, the crowd –
myself included – began to chant, “Bom-bay! Bom-bay! Bom-bay!” and after a
while, the introduction of their song, Overdone, gradually became audible. Soon
enough, Bombay came onstage and performed the song. Ed was obliquely left from
our place, and his epic hair flips were almost tangible. There were animated
graphics behind them that changed for every song they played, and the lightings
helped set the mood. The setlist is as follows: (Format: Song title; Album or EP name)
1. Overdone;
So Long, See You Tomorrow
2. It’s
Alright Now; So Long, See You Tomorrow
3. Shuffle;
A Different Kind of Fix – Honestly a
song to get your feet shuffling. It has an Entertainer aura with a slight twist
of rock. Even the slowed-down tempo of the bridge was not abandoned by the fun
rhythm.
4. Come
To; So Long, See You Tomorrow
5. Your
Eyes; A Different Kind of Fix
(Jack in front, and from L-R at the
back; Louis Bhose, Liz Lawrence, and Suren. Not sure what song this was taken,
though.)
6. Open
House; The Boy I Used To Be – Jack
made sure we knew we were special and they were about to play a song they have
not played in a long time. “We will sing a song that’s only for you, Manila!”
he said.
7. Lamplight;
I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose
8. Evening/Morning;
I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose
9. How
Can You Swallow So Much Sleep?; A
Different Kind of Fix – Hearing this song live was already like getting
rest. It was so sleep-inducing it made me want to sleep right then and there
(but in a very good way) because the music swayed me to. Plus, the lights were
dim, and the graphics showed stars and a person sleeping.
10. Home By Now; So Long, See You Tomorrow
11. Feel; So
Long, See You Tomorrow – Simply one of the highlights of the concert. Everyone
danced even more enthusiastically than before in this promising Indian-vibed,
booty-shaking number. The three of us admins were shamelessly formulating and
executing dance steps already, and it felt really, really good. Really, guys. If you want to relieve the stress
brought about by malevolent forces, i.e. academics, family problems, tough
break-ups, this song would do the trick by making you want to get up on your
feet and dance the stress away.
(This was literally during Feel. The
graphics during Feel were lively as heck!)
12. Lights Out, Words Gone; A Different Kind of Fix – Fun fact: My friends and I kept shouting
“Rak na ituuuu!” after this song, and many more times throughout the rest of
the show. Hehe.
13. Whenever,
Wherever; So Long, See You Tomorrow
14. Luna; So
Long, See You Tomorrow
15. Always Like This; I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose
16. So Long, See You Tomorrow; So Long, See You Tomorrow (duh) – Really
chill at first, but it would gradually build you up, and it is climactic and
ecstatic on so many levels. Jack played drums for this song, alongside Suren,
of course.
After their sixteenth song, they
pretended to exit the stage and briefly said their goodbye. Of course, most of
us knew it was a joke and that they were coming back for an encore, but we
decided to best play along. It wouldn’t be any fun if no one shouted, “WE WANT
MORE! WE WANT MORE!” And shout that was exactly what we did. Some of us saw
them by the side of the stage, “hiding,” so we called them out. “WE CAN SEE
YOU! COME OUT NOOOOW!” Eventually, after a few convincing yet heartfelt shouts,
they finally came up onstage once more to rock our shoes and socks off one last
time for the night.
Following the setlist are:
17. What If; I
Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose
18. Carry Me; So
Long, See You Tomorrow – “Manila, thank you so much! Salamat!” said Jack. It
was the perfect ending song to a
spectacular show. The song ends with a chilling, goosebump-ing cliffhanger. And
in tune with the ending, Jack raised his hand, as if to carry us, and carry us he did. They all did. As the last drum beat
struck and echoed, we all screamed in appreciation. It made us want more, but
we also knew that that was the end of it.
Truly, watching Bombay Bicycle Club live
was magical to me. It wasn’t just magical – it was magic in its sense. The fact
that they sound as amazing (or even more)
live as they do in recordings, the fact that they shape their music into art,
the fact that they stay true to their fans and to where they came from, the
fact that they gave the audience not only a sensational feast for the ears but
also the eyes, simply proves that this band will not let you down and will be a
worthy addition to your “to-listen-to” list. So long, see you whenever,
wherever.
(Credits to Magic Liwanag for the photos
used in this post!)
Bombay
Bicycle Club: Official
Site
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