As you walk up Goldsmith Street you can already hear the night out ahead emanating out of iconic venue Rescue Rooms. Full of energy, full of good vibes, and despite it being a Tuesday night the club is very much full as support indie band, Cusp are finishing up their set in preparation for Red Rum Club...
Often at gigs I am left wondering why people don’t dance anymore, a few foot taps there, shoulder sways here. It is all quite slow and sedated and then Francis Doran, vocalist and frontman of Red Rum Club, saunters on stage and as the first few chords of Godless twirl off the stage the whole room starts to move.
Celebrating their latest album Western Approaches landing number 8 on the official album charts, Red Rum Club are sharing their success with us, opening up their stages and spreading the spotlight on the crowd. It is the penultimate gig of their tour but the energy is high as they perform and captivate through Undertaker, Daisy and Hole in my Home, also tracks from the winning album.
From where I stood I struggled to see Joe Corby until about halfway through the set, unfortunately assuming that it was a pre-recorded trumpet until seeing him keep the pace, it was borderline breathtaking and wowed the crowd. The fusion of indie guitar with jazz melody was made for a live crowd, it is understandable as to why they are a festival favourite. A radiant riot, you can’t help but be mesmerised by the eclectic array of talent and spirit that sound like synchroinised dancing whilst looking like freedom and fun.
Rock and rage infused Vanilla, comes straight after the electric Black Cat, both boasting infectious hooks and seeing the crowd chanting the choruses, capturing the heartbeat of the dancefloor. Another stand out track of the night is Houdini, which offers a Clint Eastwood-esque twang, with its rumbling riffs achieving a more vulnerable hand to the crowd. Its poignant poetry sees the crowd flow side by side, arms round waists or swaying slowly in the air.
This energy is replicated toward the end of the set when Francis appears alone on stage, after an excited slew of encores, shouts for ‘one more song’, he offers a raw, acoustic Last Minute, showcasing the band’s most moving lyrics uniting the lovers, the friends and the strangers in the crowd. You can imagine the candlelight torches floating in the air as Francis’ soft vocals float over us, lingering in our minds as we take a moment to reflect on the people we are with during these magical moments.
But with Eleanor and Would you rather be lonely? Also making appearances as encore tracks, faces ascended from the crowd, sat high on shoulders as a minor mosh pit ensued, full of joy and strangers finding connection, the turmoil many Tuesdays bring after a long day at work remedied and made forgotten by Red Rum Club.
Admittedly I am new to the club, only hearing Eleanor, Black Cat and Honey before, of course all three were immediately added to my playlist on first hearing them, but witnessing these songs live, delivered by such a vibrant band was something so transportative and inspiring, I was singing the whole discography on the way home.
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