Review: Ride, Anson Rooms

Photo by Richard Colbourne.

It’s been a quarter of a century since Ride’s triumphant gig at Bristol’s Victoria Rooms, now they’re back (at the Anson Rooms this time) and playing to a crowd which inevitably includes a bunch of people who woz there before.

Inevitably, this was quite a one dimensional audience in terms of demographic – mostly men in their late 30s/early 40s – but the energy was brilliant. This band means as much to people tonight as they did back in the early 90s. The gig sold out within a week, despite which the market was flooded with last minute tickets up for grabs; people travelled from far and wide to see them – from Wales and even Canada, with a large queue forming from 8pm much to the pleasure of the fanzine seller.

Yes, fanzine seller. Ride The Network has produced a proper old skool Ride fanzine available for sale (for a fiver) at the Ride gigs. In a world of social media, downloads and Kindles, this is pretty revolutionary and could pave the way for similar efforts with other bands. Who knows, maybe Shampoo want to re-ignite their Manics fanzine?

Said fanzine reveals Ride have had a great year since reforming in April. Having played a hometown gig in Oxford and many European festivals, they’re well versed in bursting out the hits and taking their eager fans on a trip down memory lane. They’re tight as in their execution of songs such as Twisterella, Like A Daydream and Chrome Waves and the clear sound and inspired lighting makes for a compelling show – well, two shows. “We’re our own support,” says frontman Mark Gardener as he launches into the first of two sets (three if you count the encore), Steve Queralt’s driving bass a nod towards Bristol’s own early ’90s music scene.

The second set is their 1990 debut album Nowhere performed in its entirety and features belter after belter, from Kaleidoscope to Polar Bear and Decay. Taste, Vapour Trail and Dreams Burn Down prove the undeniable highlights, with an overwhelming energy taking over the room. The wall of noise created during the last of these wouldn’t be out of place in a My Bloody Valentine set – a truly awesome performance. The hall remains full throughout and there are pockets of movement around the venue, including a pretty solid indie-style mosh pit circling Big Jeff at the front.

In the interim years, Andy Bell joined Oasis and drummer Loz Colbert has been touring with The Jesus & Mary Chain and Gaz Coombes (ex Supergrass) – whether that’s the main reason or not, it’s really easy to see where Ride paved the way for fellow Creation act Oasis and you can easily hear how they influenced other Britpop bands such as Manic Street Preachers and Teenage Fanclub – either consciously or subconsciously. After tonight’s gig, you get the impression they could well go onto influence a bunch more bands – especially if they’ve got some new material in them. 

There’s certainly no denying how important they were first time round. Revealing fellow showgaze heroes Slowdive are in the crowd, Mark isn’t so thoughtless as another Mark (Kozelek) who called singer Rachel up on stage for an impromptu duet during the Bristol gig (though that would’ve been quite something).