Ticket To Ride

I just can't help myself sometimes...

 

So, Ride at SWX in Bristol last Saturday. Swiss Adam saw them the night before at New Century Hall in Manchester and posted a superlative review on Bagging Area last weekend. What could I possibly add?

Well, the location for one, as it was probably the first time I'd stepped inside for more than two decades. SWX is right in the centre of Bristol's Broadmead shopping area, next to an Odeon cinema (and also now a Lidl) and opposite the former Bridewell police station, where this young reprobate spent a few hours in a cell as teen for shoplifting (I've since reformed).

Back when my parents were courting, the venue was a Top Rank ballroom, but it was a nightclub during my teens and twenties, variously called Romeo and Juliets, Papillons, Odyssey and The Works. It subsequently became Syndicate until a buyout and relaunch as SWX in 2017, repositioning the space as a live venue as well as a nightclub.

I didn't go there very often in the 1980s and 1990s, I preferred other clubs dotted around the city, but it was generally a place to go if there were student nights or if I was a out with a group of workmates, who all seemed to prefer the more mainstream stuff played there. I may have seen a gig or two there, but if I did, I've long since lost the tickets and the memory. 

 

I do remember a college friend dragging me along to see a DJ mixing competition there, circa 1988, when I guess it was Papillons. I remember very little else about it, but it was a tiny spark that ignited my interest in the club culture that was coming in fast like a forest fire.

So, the first time I'd been in the building in a long while, although to be honest it didn't feel like it had changed all that much once I was inside, apart from the whacking great stage at one end of the space.

 

Support for the evening was Junodream, whose 30-minute set was vaguely reminiscent of The Verve, in a good way. The audience generally seemed to like them and there was a loud cheer when it was revealed that one or two of them had been to uni in Bristol.

By the time Ride took to the stage, the venue had filled up considerably. Adam's comment on the audience of "middle aged shoegazers and indie kids" pretty much describes the SWX crowd too. It was clear that this was a chance for many to relive their youth and forget the additional kilos and years that have accumlated since those heady days.

I confess that back in 1990-1992, I couldn't be bothered with Ride. I was getting deep into dance and electronica and was a bit sniffy about guitar bands, with a few exceptions. My friend's girlfriend loved them and she had all of their EPs and albums up to that point. I remained unmoved for the most part, but I got over myself when, like The Boo Radleys with Giant Steps, Ride released their psychedelic magnum opus, Carnival Of Light, which I thought was great. 1996's Tarantula passed me by though and then Ride went their separate ways. And that, I thought, was that.

Only Ride reformed and delivered the brilliant Weather Diaries in 2017 and This Is Not A Safe Place in 2019. Not that I hooked on to either straight away. Thank goodness then for Bagging Area, where Adam's championing of Ride (and Andy Bell, but that's another story) washed the scales from my eyes and opened me up to the fact that not only were Ride back, but they were even better.

 

What better time then to experience Ride live in concert for the very first time?

 

I've since caught up with most of Ride's back catalogue, but I intentionally didn't buy or listen to current album Interplay, which came out in March, before the gig as I wanted to hear the songs for the first time in this live setting. (Apart from the KEXP session that I recently posted, that is).

 

As it happens, six of the album’s twelve songs were played, with a spectacular opening brace of Monaco and Portland Rocks. These set the tone for the set to follow: played (very) loud, a wall of noise that revealed layers of complexity and texture, songs seamlessly flowing into one another. 

 

There was the odd bit of between song chat and time for the audience to show it's appreciation, yet at the same time, it felt like there was little or no pause as one song ended and another began.

Last Frontier and I Came To See The Wreck were paired a few songs later, and then...did Mark Gardener just introduce a song called Pizza?! Oh, Peace Sign! Although Ride have clearly matured as a band, it was wonderful that weaving the new songs in with the old just demonstrated how consistently good they've been throughout both phases of their career.

Just one more song from Interplay saved for the encore, which I'll get to, but the remainder of the set was a glorious adventure through time, and the Ride catalogue. What I did note, checking out Setlist after the gig, was that Ride also like to change up their songs whilst on tour. Whilst 3/4 of Bristol show was identical to Manchester the previous evening, 4 songs were swapped: the aforementioned Portland Rocks, a blistering run through Kill Switch, 1992 single Twisterella and, going even further back to 1990's Fade EP with Taste.

The 'core' songs clearly satisfied the 'hardcore' Ride fans: Dreams Burn Down and the Withnail & I-sampling Cool Your Boots; post-reunion modern classic Lannoy Point also received a rapturous response.

The main set closed with two of Ride's greatest songs, Seagull and Vapour Trail. There was a hell of a lot of fist pumping and jerky dancing going on in front of me (I was moving too, but my arms were flailing a little less, out of respect for my neighbours) and these last two songs almost sent them over the edge. It was a great atmosphere throughout.

All good things must come to an end, but not before a three-song encore: a final blast from Interplay with Light In A Quiet Room; a shimmering, shuddering Leave Them All Behind and, back to where it all began with Chelsea Girl.

 

Ride said goodbye one last time, left the stage, the lights came on and the audience shuffled out of SWX, dazed and somewhat disbelieving that it was all over. As I stepped out, I also realised it was barely 10.00pm and a queue was lined up for the club night, ready to get inside and dance 'til dawn.

Me, I just wanted to get back on for another Ride.

I've since listened to Interplay in its entirety and it is of course excellent. It only took me just over three decades to become a proper Ride but I'm glad I didn't miss the opportunity to see them live in concert this year. What an experience.

I've tried to recreate some of the feel (or at least my memory) of the show by editing and stitching songs together so that one goes to another with barely a pause for breath. As all of the songs from Interplay are spliced in this way, I hope this will also be further encouragement (if needed) to go and listen to (and buy) the album in full. 

For Vapour Trail, I've opted for an extended remix that Robert Smith of The Cure did in 2015 over the original as some of you may not have heard it and I think that this version still sits well with the overall sound of the selection.

 

1) Monaco (2024)

2) Portland Rocks (2024)

3) Dreams Burn Down (1990)

4) Kill Switch (Album Version) (2019)

5) Last Frontier (2024)

6) I Came To See The Wreck (2024)

7) Twisterella (1992)

8) Lannoy Point (2017)

9) Peace Sign (2024)

10) Taste (1990)

11) Cool Your Boots (1992)

12) Vapour Trail (Vapour Mix By Robert Smith) (2015)

13) Seagull (1990)

14) Light In A Quiet Room (2024)

15) Leave Them All Behind (1992)

16) Chelsea Girl (1990) 

1990: Fall EP: 10

1990: Nowhere: 3, 13

1990: Ride EP: 16

1992: Going Blank Again: 7, 11, 15

2015: Vapour Trail (Disintegrated) EP: 12

2017: Weather Diaries: 8

2019: This Is Not A Safe Place: 4

2024: Interplay: 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 14

Ticket To Ride (1:19:40) (KF) (Mega)