Five years since their last visit to The Bodega, Scottish alt-rock trio The Xcerts returned this past week to that wonderful loft on Pelham Street. Armed with a new album in the form of 2023’s Learning How To Live and Let Go as well as celebrating the 10-year anniversary of There Is Only You, this was one show we couldn’t miss…
Don’t you just love it when you rock up early to see a support band, not knowing anything about them, and then get instantly won over in the room? Well, this happened to me with quartet China Bears, who played through songs from their debut album, Participation Trophy, released just last month. Boasting heartfelt songwriting and accomplished musicianship, I Will Break My Own Heart stood out before the first-ever live performance of I Always Wish You Here (With Me). “I’m officially a shredder!” says an ecstatic frontman Ivan, who was clearly pleased the performance of the song came off so well. It’s then back to “soft chords” for North Star, before Gracie is dedicated to his best friend. It’s then an impressive final duo of Easy Kill that segues straight into the mesmerising Sunday. China Bears return to The Bodega on the 8th of October for their own headline show and after that performance, I will definitely be recommending that people get themselves along to that.
It has to be said that The Bodega is noticeably quieter than normal tonight, maybe a mix of people being away on holidays, festival season still in swing and the Premier League being back. However, it adds a special atmosphere to the show, almost like The Xcerts have rocked up to play a party in your front room. It feels as intimate as it can get for a band I have been watching perform live for almost 10 years now and they play their hearts out as if they were headlining Rock City.
The first part of the show is pretty breathless, with the band racing through their catalogue without stopping. Opener GIMME leads into big singalongs for Daydream, Shaking In The Water and You Drive Me Wild, before the whirlwind 100 secs of Ache. “Hello everyone, as you can see we are The Xcerts” says frontman Murray Macleod when he finally pauses for a break, pointing to the screen behind them that has their name emblazoned onto it. “We did used to have a hypen so it was ‘The X-Certs’, until we realised there was a punk band from the 70s called that. You’d get all these hardcore punks coming to our shows and screaming in our face when we were only 14 years old. We had to be like ‘What do you mean you don’t want to hear Papa Roach covers?!’”
It's a funny anecdote but then it’s back to business, with new songs Jealousy and Blame both going down a storm before an anthemic rendition of Live Like This. There is then an awkward pause as a member of the audience requests an obscure B-Side, which Murray shrewdly moves onto another anecdote, this time about his love life. “Last time we played here, I actually started dating someone from behind the bar” he reveals, ensuring the crowd that said person is not on shift tonight. “I got the ick and the fear at the same time, as she surprised me with Alton Towers tickets – without asking if I was into rides!” The hilarious story continues with Murray comparing Oblivion to his sex life (“Over in 10 seconds!” - sorry in advance Murray if your mum is reading this!) before revealing she is now married with kids whilst “I’m still with Beavis and Butthead over here”, pointing at bandmates Jordan Smith and Tom Heron.
Once the laughter stops, the intermission is over and it’s into the haunting Crisis in the Slow Lane, before another big singalong to Hold Onto Your Heart and Lovesick. After Murray unnecessarily apologises for oversharing (“There’s something about these intimate shows that just makes my mouth go!”), it’s then into the triumphant final duo of songs. Their biggest single Feels Like Falling In Love has the crowd belting the chorus from the top of their lungs with their hands in the air, as Murray steps forward to shred through the song’s incredible guitar solo at the climax. His bandmates then depart the stage as he is left alone with just an acoustic guitar, ending the set on a beautiful and emotional rendition of Aberdeen 1987.
From the amusing stories and crowd interactions to the band sounding as good as ever, this was a memorable Friday night in The Bodega. With great support from China Bears and a super intimate setting for one of the country’s most underrated bands, this show was an unexpectedly special one.
The Xcerts performed at The Bodega on Friday 16th August 2024 with support from China Bears.
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