Gig review: Aaron West & The Roaring Twenties at The Bodega

Walking up the stairs and into the main room at The Bodega, as I open the door I’m immediately greeted by a mass of bodies. It’s a sold-out show tonight so a busy room was to be expected, but to have every inch of the floor covered for the first support of the night is often a rare occurrence.

Hearing Dryjacket’s music for the first time though it’s no surprise, with the mood perfectly complimenting what is to come from the evening’s headliner. As frontman Joe Junod stands alone with his acoustic guitar on stage, as it’s just a solo performance rather than a full band set tonight, the crowd is beautifully quiet. You can tell instantly it’s an
audience that are all here for the music, respecting the artist with not a drop of chatter to be had. “I was preparing to play over people talking but you’re all so silent!” Joe acknowledges, clearly appreciative of the engagement.

It’s a great opening set too, with Joe playing through the likes of Misused Adrenaline, Latchkey and Wicker Couch, before he is joined by a trumpet player for finale, Salt Life.

Next support up is Future Teens, whose angsty “bummer pop” and impressive guitar work start to get some of the crowd moving around. Their inter-song banter is the highlight though, whether it’s asking The Bodega crowd where the best spot is in Nottingham to play Pinball (to which the response was “SKEGVEGAS!”) or discussing British-isms like tie lengths relating to coolness and the phrase, “touching cloth”.

They, too, make a point of acknowledging the lack of chatter in the
crowd, joking that the audience are being “borderline, too respectful”. As they smash through their 9-song set that includes Doorknob Confessional, Emotional Bachelor, Mourning Time and Team Sports, Dan Campbell himself then joins the band on vocals for a triumphant closing performance of In Love Or Whatever.

Finally, it’s time for tonight’s headliner and having seen pictures of the band on Instagram at the other tour dates, I was slightly concerned that they wouldn’t be able to fit all eight members onto the Bodega stage. I needn’t have worried, as although it’s a cosy setup, the complete band fit neatly into the space. This includes the all important 3-piece horn section which features a trombone player, a saxophone player and none other than Joe Junod of Dryjacket on the trumpet. After the respectful silence for the support, the Notts crowd waste no time going full lung for opening track Our Apartment, having clearly been saving their voice for this portion of the show. 

After emphatic performances of Grapefruit and Bury Me Anywhere Else, the band then get a mini ovation from the thunderous crowd, which is incredible just three songs into the set. 

“So, we have a new record out - have you heard it?” Dan Campbell asks the crowd, to which the response is a resounding yes. “Good, as it would’ve been embarrassing for you if you hadn’t” he jokes, before launching into his damnation of the US private healthcare system, Paying Bills At The End of the World. He then sticks with cuts from In Lieu of Flowers, with Monongahela Park and Alone at St. Luke’s both going down a storm, with the latter being inspired by a COVID outbreak in the band during their last UK tour.

Despite the warm reception to the new material, it’s the older songs that expectedly get the loudest singalongs, with the likes of Bloodied Up in a Bar Fight and ’67 Cherry Red in particular seeing the audience passionately belt back every single word.

“The Mountain Goats changed my life” shares Dan Campbell during a gorgeous cover of their song Going To Georgia, before he openly talks about the grief and depression he went through during the Summer of 2014, before heart-pulling renditions of Just Sign The Papers and Divorce and The American South.

Towards the end, Dan then hilariously informs the crowd that there will be no encore routine tonight: “Here’s the deal – there’s no backstage here, just a room with mosquitos. You don’t have mosquitos here? What do you have? Gnats?!” Funny! The mood then changes, as Dan talks about the moment he contemplated whether Aaron West & The Roaring Twenties should continue as a band, before saying he decided to go on as “we bring communal joy to dark places.” As an audience member yells back “your music changed my life” you can see Dan look visibly emotional on stage – it obviously meant a lot to hear that.

This sets things up perfectly for the title track from In Lieu of Flowers, with its triumphant horns a natural closer to any live set. The band then stay on stage as chants of “two more songs” ring out, while Dan reminds everyone about the dreaded “gnat den”. The would-be encore of Dead Leaves and You Ain't No Saint ends the show in fitting fashion – with two more ear-piercing singalongs.