By Desh Kapur, Rock At Night Manchester

Venue: LIVERPOOL 02 ACADEMY –7^TH MAY 2018

A sold-out O2 Academy in Liverpool was to be the venue for tonight’s celebration of Gomez’s debut mercury prize-winning album “BRING IT ON”, an album that still holds pride of place in many record collections and still stands up today as a masterpiece, as much as it did 20 years ago when it was released….Bring It On indeed!!!!

Lights go dark, music begins and on stride the alternative indie rock band from Southport, Merseyside.

Playing the album in pretty much its original track order, we are launched straight into “Miles Away” and we are off…. Memories of hearing this album for the very first time race to the surface, the very moment, smoking with friends in a house we shared. It’s unique mix of trippy drum machines and indie stoner rock, almost folky in parts, the amazing deep gravelly blues-soaked voice of 20 year old Ben Ottwell, sits so comfortably next to the Indie rock voice of Ian Ball. Psych Rock, Blues, Indie pop and Electronica, its all crammed in; you would think it couldn’t possibly work, but work it does. Beautifully.

Its hard to pick a favourite track, but songs such as “Whippin Piccadilly” and “Get Myself Arrested” garners the biggest crowd reaction and participation with the crowd singing back to the band, with such love and enthusiasm, word for word.

As the band finishes the night with tracks outside of the album “Bring It On” like “Shot Shot”, “We Haven’t Turned Around”, “Revolutionary Kind” the crowd are loving the trip down memory lane and then it is a turbo version of “Whippin Piccadilly” to bring the house down and it was over. A night of memories, nostalgia and the reminder of what a great band Gomez are, how good “Bring It On” is and how amazing that summer was 20 years ago!!!