Live: By The Rivers

Headliner: By The Rivers
Where: Attic, Bristol
When: 23rd May 2014
Reviewed By: Ben Chapman

Eight o'clock, sucking watermelon shisha on benches outside the Attic, Bristol. It was a long and uncertain wait until By The Rivers were set to play. It was going to be some time, but we weren't to miss a thing. Boozy sun-dried memories of their Boomtown Fair performance being anything to go by, the band is worth waiting for, greatly enjoyable no matter how long or little time you've had to sink beers in anticipation.

Finally, a ready audience poured inside the long shack that forms the ground level Attic. The cosy but open area made for an intimate gig setting. The band opened with Vulture, their main single and effective call to arms. A couple of chanted lines follow a smooth melodic refrain (“Na-na na-na, naaaa”) that rings about the listener's head for hours afterwards. By The River’s brilliance is in their essentially catchy but never repetitive songs.

Their style is a familiar blend but hard to describe, a sped-up festival reggae or melodic ska with pop-influenced singing, thankfully without the corniness, with praiseworthy dance-inducing power. Having won over the crowd with ease, they break during a chorus and introduce themselves. Fun but seriously good, there's no messing about, they're soon back in to finish the song, the horn section's strength being increasingly felt towards the track's close.

Photo credit: Jacob Williams

By The Rivers proved they were tight and consistent live performers, staying true to their studio recordings, delivering a busy set that never lost momentum. Tune after excellent tune the the stage was busied by a capable horn section, heavy basslines, energetic guitar, and thickening vocal harmonies.

Amid the bopping crowd we noticed the party feel and high pitched melody of Run Home starting up. Though this track was well received, it was a shame that history didn't repeat itself, our attempt to initiate the revival of By The River's monstrous conga line at last Boomtown's Old Town Stage failed miserably.

But the crowd couldn't help but pay attention to the walking bassline's ability to create carnival atmosphere in the infectious Don’t Say You Love Me. The pied-piper melody of the smooth vocals and the lyrics' bouncy rhyme scheme fit the jolly offbeat's skanking guitar perfectly, beckoning the crowd to jump along.

 By The Rivers played a set that will ensure fans long for their welcome return to Bristol. We can only hope in the future that their next wave of touring material will live up to the first. Even better: the venue was free entry before nine, even though we had to wait for midnight until a chord was struck. The privilege of seeing them for free combined with the excellently performed tunes that anyone would happily have paid to witness made for an unforgettable gig.