Hard to believe it’s been twenty years since Gomez released their debut album Bring It On yet here we are twenty years later celebrating that record’s release at the Danforth Music Hall. I was actually surprised at the size of the crowd since the band played to a much smaller crowd just a few years ago in support of their last record. I guess anniversary tours bring out the nostalgia in everyone
From the opening notes of “Get Miles” to the closing track “The Comeback”, it became fairly obvious that this is a record that has aged rather well. Playing the first leg of their North American tour, the band looked in top form despite occasionally forgetting how certain songs were played. One of the beauties of a Gomez show is just seeing how well the band utilizes the three singers different voices. I mean, all Gomez fans knows the voices of Ben Ottewell, Ian Ball and Tom Gray, but to see it in action is always a treat.
For example, on their classic “Get Myself Arrested”, it’s not quite noticeable on record but when you see them sing, “Don’t try and call me, I’m immobile man, yes I am” and then you realize that Ben only joins in a the “I’m immobile man” part, you are like, wow that’s pretty cool.
Anyways, the live rendition of the album sounded great with the three singles getting a nice sing along. Of course post album, the band dived into the greatest hits portion of the night which finally included their single “We Haven’t Turned Around”, the only “rock ballad” of the night, as quoted by Ben Ottewell. They encored with a rocking version of “Airstream Driver” and “How We Operate,” reminding everyone that Gomez can bring the rock when they want to.
A pleasant night all around
