The Magic Gang, an indie boy band from Brighton who burst onto the music scene in 2014 with Shallow on SoundCloud, headlined Rock City on Saturday 29th as part of their UK tour. The band have cited Weezer, their eponymous 1994 album in particular, as being a key influence on their sound, and have only grown in success and popularity since their beginning. They were supported by up and coming The Orielles and Sports Team and brought out a rowdy mix of teenagers and adults alike to Rock City’s main room.
Sports Team, a punky brazen indie band formed at Cambridge University and who are now based in East London, warmed up the crowd, and showed a lot of potential. The Orielles were on next, with their dream pop debut album released earlier this year, as a worthy precursor to the night ahead.
At last The Magic Gang came on, and the crowd, tensed in anticipation, went wild. The soon-to-be indie darlings kicked off the gig with crowd favourite ‘Alright’, from their 2015 single that first put them on the map. The setlist was a strategic mix of older and newer works including some of their back catalogue of singles from the past three years that have culminated in a loyal following; there was no shortage of buzz when they followed with the 2016 single “All This Way” and ‘Jasmine’ a deep cut, detailing unrequited fondness from frontman Jack Kaye. The shorter than anticipated set continued on with newer hits of ‘I’ll Show You’ and ‘Oh, Saki’.
The encore consisted of the acoustic ‘Life Without You’, an unusual addition to a typical Magic Gang gig, that added a mellow, bittersweet moment to the end of an exceptionally good evening. The final track of the set was ‘All That I Want is You’ harking back to the early days of their EP and first years of touring in unknown venues. Contrary to the early song of theirs ‘No Fun’, the gig was actually amazing fun and The Magic Gang are definitely ones to look out for! Their UK tour continues in October before heading off to Europe and finally Japan.
Photo Credits: Featured Image-Dan Kendall, Magic Gang bottom page-Rosaline Shahnavaz and The Orielles- Neelam Khan Vela
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