The news this past week has all been about one sports team, one that has been up to all sorts of things, creating chaos in the process. No, this isn’t the biggest scandal in the history of sport, but a chaos brought about by the end of a storming tour. Tonight was the final leg, and, as the cliché goes, you save the best till last. Sports Team’s chaos was being put to good use, better than the dishonourable chaos that a certain other sports team has been found guilty of…
Sports Team have become one of the most praiseworthy groups of the decade. Known for their frantic unleashing of bedlam at live shows and thrilling as a day at the races, they have come to represent an era of indie guitar music that flung a fist out of live pandemic silence and opened a can of whoop ass on the UK Indie scene. I experienced this first hand at Dot to Dot last year, when they were confirmed as the secret headliners at The Bodega, performing at 1am: a delight for me but not so much for my feet, which had been active for over 12 hours by that point. For what it was worth, it was a price worth paying.
Before the team took to the stage, we were set upon by a pack of animals from Bristol. The five-piece group of the same name have an attitude that's performative, posturing like sweet and tender Stone Islanders. This might put off some of the older crowd in attendance, but those youngsters at the front are all “mad fer it”. The band is a bit of a throwback to the 90s. Their sound draws on all from The Charlatans, Jesus and Mary Chain, even pop-era U2. That might be a bit uncool, but it was an era in which U2 got a lot of praise. The set had a smidgen of festival energy left as we go into gig season so as not to upset people that the nights are drawing in. The last show is dedicated to all the alcoholics in an act that is somewhat crass and cringey, but a long tour can do this to people.
If A Pack of Animals felt too intimidating and feral, Porij offered a calming antidote to razor sharp swagger. They charm us all with indie pop that drills into funky house music. There was something rather cute and welcoming about this performance. Vocalist Scout Moore (aka Egg) is the kind of person you want in your corner to give you a big hug, their star quality is being able to ensure people get up and dance then sway, smooch and cradle loved ones. It had a very romantic feel to it all and the halcyon vocals were an absolute treat.
The lights dimmed and the team proceeded in line. Sports Team were eager to make this last date one to savour. The team had a last minute substitution of Henry Young being the latest addition to the squad headed by frontman Alex Rice. A Cambridge graduate, Rice has never been far from controversy. His lyrics rally against political and social issues in a sardonic manner but the comfort of Cambridge makes his sardonic words seem performative and hypocritical in the eyes of his most ardent critics. The playful reminiscence of middle England went down well with the descending students of Nottingham, some of whom make up Middle England.
The Game kicks things off in a wild and unhinged manner that swells up the Metronome’s core (this is a running motif of Sports Team gigs). The core is awash with bodies in a convection waiting to split like atoms and descend into bedlam. The security guards had an absolute field day for all this. Followed by Happy (God’s Own Country) and Palomino, the shots of adrenaline hit instantly and of a stronger dosage.
After the hits of Tequila Rose, Here it Comes Again and a trip along the M5 — which involved more crowdsurfers than members of band on stage, Rice singles out one of them who got kicked out of the their recent Liverpool show, not surprised in the slightest to see him back for more.
With all the new students in attendance, Rice wittingly calls out with remarks that Ben Mack, the band’s keyboardist, was caught at freshers nicking phones and that the reason their original guitarist isn’t here is due to him going to freshers nights out after the break up of his relationship the truth was he was on paternity leave). These hijinks were totally unhinged and akin to Stewart Lee’s comedy style of playing the room as it’s dealt. Rice went one further and lectured the light technician to experiment with each tone of lighting to get the mood right, then demanding the lights be turned off entirely.
The crowd joined in with their own hijinks, honouring the Norwegian football team with the dragonboat rowing ceremony in the core of the pit. This was all good fun, though a young man next to me caught an elbow to the face and cut his eye.
The set ended with their scene-bursting hits Here’s the Thing and Kutcher before their latest release, Billy — another two-minute beam of energy that sent the crowd into one last frenzy. Afterward I made a new friend, Dylan, who happened to be attending his first gig alone: an unexpected +1 which will make for future appearances. This is what live music is all about: making new friends. Don’t be shy!
Sports team went out with a bang, proving that teams don’t need to cheat to be entertaining (wink, wink).
Sports Team performed at Metronome on 30 September 2026 (as part of the DIY Alive Tour)
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