British India

By Kate Reid

With British India back for their second gig of the year the stage was set for yet another night of musical mayhem. Getting the ball rolling was The Howling Tongues a local three piece who seemed genuinely excited about their support slot. With a set list that included tracks such as Born To Be Wild and Whole Lot of Love they certainly wear their classic rock influences on their sleeves. After reassuring the crowd that they do play their own songs they proceeded to entertain with guitar solos, power ballads and a song about sex. Very rock and roll.

Unfortunately the second support, The Protectors, did nothing particularly memorable gauging from the crowd’s inattentive manner. Another addition to the ever expanding list of upcoming indie bands they played some pop rock songs and got a couple of girl’s dancing but on the whole there was nothing for the crowd to write home about. Now don’t read this the wrong way they are good musicians and a couple of the tunes were catchy but on this particular night the crowd just didn’t seem to be feeling it, possibly due to SSS (Second Support Syndrome) where you become acutely aware that the headlining act are not too far away.

With the setup over and done with and the growing crowd getting restless the British India boys entered to a very warm UniBar welcome. Opening with the frenzied drumming of This Dance is Loaded the crowd’s patience was well and truly rewarded. With a small beach ball bouncing around the room and plenty of sing-a-longs the set progressed through tracks from the new album Thieves including I Said I’m Sorry and You Will Die and I Will Take Over. Although, the crowd participation did get a bit embarrassing as many a hand was raised in anticipation of restraint during the track Tie Up My Hands. Maybe just a tad obvious.

The appeal of British India is simple. They play infectious rock tracks with just a hint of youthful rebellion. You get the feeling they are just a couple of average 20 something’s who want nothing more than to play their instruments and make the most of the perks that come with the rock and roll lifestyle. Thankfully it is not just the boys who benefit from their new found success. Without it the crazed audience wouldn’t get the opportunity to end the night with a shout-a-long to the lyrics of Black and White Radio. And who wants to live in a world void of drunken shout-a-longs?