Gig review: Bob Vylan at Rock City

As we enter Rock City, there’s a familiar face working at the merchandise stand tonight, as frontman Bobby himself is stood behind the desk. You see Humble As The Sun isn’t just an album title, as ‘The Bobs’ (as they’re affectionately known) really do live that mantra, taking the time both before and after each show to interact with their fans, sign merch and take photos. So, while their music may be vicious, outside of it they really do earn the moniker of “the friendliest band in rock ‘n’ roll”.

Sadly, work commitments mean we miss out on Brighton-based electro-punk trio CLT DRP who open tonight (check them out!), however we do make it in time to catch the end of Hyphen’s energetic set. Immediately it’s clear to see why the London rapper was chosen as the main support, as stylistically there’s a lot of similarities to tonight’s headliners. He gets the crowd fired up too, as we notice more than a few people singing and waving along, before Hyphen himself rushes by us and enters the pit during the final song of his set.

With the crowd suitably warmed up, it’s then time for the main event. After a brief interval, the familiar sounds of Here Comes The Sun by The Beatles play out over the speakers, as Bobby and Bobbie (drummer) take to the stage. Wearing their usual Fred Perry branded attire, Bobby starts the evening by apologising for being a couple of minutes late, saying he got held up talking to someone at the merch stand. They then start as they always do with some light stretching and meditation, with many of the crowd limbering up along with them, getting themselves ready for the carnage that is about to ensue.

It's then immediately into a barrage of big hitters from Humble As The Sun, with single Reign followed by GYAG (Get Yourself A Gun) and Dream Big. From the get-go it’s just non-stop energy, the pits constantly opening up at the front of the stage, with Bobby noting that the “singalong crew” is also out in force tonight. Ring The Alarm then sees him perform part of the track from the audience, being lifted and crowd-surfed amongst the horde which makes for a truly cool visual. The Humble As The Sun portion of the evening is then rounded off with boisterous lead single He’s a Man, before the Fatboy Slim-sampling Right Here paints a hypnotic picture of limbs and lasers.

Bobby then mentions how they have a lot of songs but not enough time to play them all, so he introduces a new “quickfire round” into the set, something their peers in Enter Shikari have often done to rattle through a few hits in speedy fashion. With the crowd yelling along to a few bars from GDP, waves of crowd surfers then take flight during a trio of cuts from 2020’s We Live Here, as I Heard You Want Your Country Back, England’s Ending and CSGB cause more mad scenes. Bobby even pulls out the classic cricket bat for the latter, swinging it wildly around the stage.

It's then time for the duo’s biggest track Wicked & Bad, which gets the whole of Rock City bouncing as pyrotechnic sparks shoot up from the stage. Bobby then conducts the crowd in a singalong to Pretty Songs, before the beat switch creates more crazy mosh pits down the front. He then trolls the audience by suggesting Laurie from Soft Play is about to join them for their collaborative track The Delicate Nature, which of course he doesn’t, not that it matters to the crowd who are still going full throttle to every single song.

The hour-long set flies by and before you know it, it’s then time for the big finale. After the ferocious We Live Here, the duo then end the night on the vicious but poignant, Hunger Games. Drummer Bobbie joins the other Bobby during the song’s breakdown, with the pair momentarily pausing to thank the crowd for coming out and to share an affectionate hug with one another. Bobbie then returns to his drum kit, as the duo end with the motivational spoken word that climaxes Hunger Games, sending everyone home on a positive note. If that wasn’t enough, Walking On Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves then rings out over the venue’s sound system, with a few who still have energy left over continuing to dance away, as the rest of the audience heads for the exit.

Bob Vylan are always quick to rattle off their list of nicknames at every show, with “The most important band in Great Britain” often the one that rightfully gets the loudest pop from the crowd. However, having now caught them a few times in Nottingham, they can certainly add one of the best live acts around to that list too. Another electric night from a band that never disappoint.

Bob Vylan performed at the Rock City on 5th November 2024.

@bobbyvylan