Live Review: The Subways w/ Gaffa Tape Sandy and Catbear | Mash, Cambridge | 04/02/2023
After just recently earning his English degree in this fair city, Billy Lunn and company lecture Cambridge in the ways of earnest indie-rock once again alongside upstarts Catbear and Gaffa Tape Sandy.
Catbear
It’s Saturday night in Cambridge town, a time where this historic hub of academia turns into a playground for intoxicated students en-masse. But whilst those anticipating tonight’s openers to be act dealing in raucousness may be left wanting, Catbear swiftly pacify any early punters filtering though the doors with their warming take on synth-speckled indie. As endearing as their namesake implies, the London duo’s set this early evening is an idyllic experience void of any pretence or gimmicks, with the band channelling their work with a sense of earnest humbleness that counteracts the more high-octane shenanigans set to follow.
However, to call Catbear’s set one of mundaneness would be an outright lie. As the duo sail through select tracks from their 2021 record Into The Light, they present a profound sense of emotional vulnerability that’s tangible. This combined with their brilliant albeit subtle fusion of melancholic synths and major key dance chords results in a performance that’s rich with a sense of intricacy and contrast, one that’s both deeply contemplative as it is simply enjoyable. Granted, they may be far removed from the rock and roll sound that hallmarked tonight’s headliner, but easy to see why The Subways have handpicked this great band to open proceedings.
Score: 7/10
Gaffa Tape Sandy
In contrast to tonight’s pacifying and soothing openers, Gaffa Tape Sandy are loose and unfiltered. Despite this run of shows being their first post-pandemic, as the raw garage-punk trio tear into ‘Water Bottle’ before ripping into choice cuts from 2019’s brilliant Family Animal, it’s clear that the band’s joints have not suffered from any rust during their forced down time. In fact, as the group duck and dive around this venue and coat their respective instruments in perspiration, it appears the relatively local trio are more energised than ever before, something that bares consideration given how they where long known as an entity of energy and acrobatics long before Covid put a stop to their larks.
Whilst this may paint an image of a band hectic and unrestrained – which are most definitely are tonight – Gaffa Tape Sandy aren’t unfocused with their delivery. As the band display a more composed aspect of their sound with ‘Dinner Jacket’ and the irrefutable earworm that is ‘Headlights’, it’s clear that the trio don’t sacrifice even a modicum of quality in their swaggering approach and ceaselessly bouncy energy. Ultimately, as the band give a tantalising glimmer of their upcoming record with the thus-far unreleased ‘Find Out What They Wanted’, it’s impossible to draw parallels with the band they are supporting here. Fully decapsulating the rogue-like energy that swiftly became tonight’s headliner’s primary drawing point, it’s hard to visualise a future where this act don’t reap the same spoils of a blossoming career like The Subways found themselves bequeathed with all those years ago.
Score: 8/10
The Subways
As for tonight’s headliners, well, a lot has changed since their last performance in this city in 2014. In the nine years that have passed since then, the band have survived a prolonged hiatus, released a brilliant record and frontman Lunn even found himself becoming alumni of the prestigious university here. To add further credence to the time, it appears tonight’s audience can be divided into two clear demographics; younger fans who only just recently discovered this band and now firmly middle-aged devotees who still had a head full of hair when The Subways released their last full-length. Yet, as The Subways dive into ‘Oh Yeah’ with pomp galore, it feels like no time has passed at all.
Related: “I didn’t want it to be subtle. I wanted that song to be a punch in the face” – The Subways on activism, nepotism and Uncertain Joys
Still retaining the fire, swagger and confidence that surrounded their moniker at their highly publicised height, The Subways are still a joy to behold live. Whilst some may question the band’s appeal now they have aged from the adolescent energy that once distinguished them, it’s clear that their time away from the spotlight has been nothing but beneficial for them. Frankly, as the band dive and swerve through gilded classics such as ‘Mary’, ‘Taking The Blame’ and ‘Kalifornia’ – a track that showcases the serrated edge that is often overshadowed by their more universal pop appeal – The Subway seem more confident and assured than ever before. It’s content from their most recent record Uncertain Joys that further see’s the band bolstered by what appears to be a newfound sense of purpose though, with ‘Black Wax’, ‘Influencer Killed The Rock Star’ and ‘You Kill My Cool’ – a track introduced matter-of-factly being about oral sex – seeing the band strut their saunter with poise and musical finesse.
Of course though, the classics are the tracks that incite the biggest receptions. It’s ‘Girls & Boys’, ‘With You’ and ‘We Don’t Need Money To Have A Good Time’ that infuse the aforementioned youngsters and elder fans with a sense of joy that’s either fresh or long dormant, and as the band treat the near capacity venue to the hits that propelled their career, the true endearing nature of this band comes fully transparent. Whilst The Subways are a band that have long been compared with classic rock and roll associationists in more mainstream circles, they’re a unit utterly dedicated to unity, inclusivity and collective glee. There’s no false gimmicks, toxicity or tired stereotypes within their sound or live environment, just a sense of harmonic unification driven by the joy of rebellious, yet wholesome music. As the trio sign off this show – and tour as a whole – with the now timeless 2005 classic ‘Rock & Roll Queen’, regardless of how some may disregard them as a product of a scene now long annulled, it’s simply inarguable that we need the pure joy of now reinvigorated Subways is required more than ever.
Score: 9/10