Bombay Bicycle Club Mark North American Debut With Bombastic Blowout at CMW

Most people work their way up the ranks, from bars to bigger venues, in the hopes of attaining that coveted festival-status. In the case of British indie rockers Bombay Bicycle Club, they are reverting.

The young quartet have already dominated the UK press and were recently announced as the headliners for this year's Underage festival. On Friday, they made their North American debut in Toronto at Canadian Music Week to a much smaller crowd -- and there was no sight of green grass or blue skies.

Though the setting was less idyllic, the excited crowd gathered at Lee's Palace Friday night certainly couldn't be a let down to the band, with the audience showing their eagerness by continually chanting "Bombay! Bombay! Bombay!" In fact, fans have been waiting for roughly three years to see the outfit in the flesh (their debut album 'I Had the Blues But I Shook Them Loose' was released in 2009), so it's understandable why folks might be antsy.

When Spinner informed the band that they were playing at one of the key locations featured in 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,' guitarist Jamie MacColl immediately got excited. "We went to the premiere of that movie!" he said. "It was one of the first things we were invited to."
And it was quite the welcoming party, indeed, when Bombay Bicycle Club finally took the stage. With the crowd's anticipation breaking into chaos and elation as MacColl, singer Jack Steadman, bassist Ed Nash and drummer Suren de Saram kicked off their set.

The band moved through tracks like 'Always Like This' and 'Dust On the Ground,' as well as new single 'Evening/Morning,' often greeted with joyous screams from the crowd, especially on fan favourites which induced spontaneous sing-alongs, energetic chanting and hand clapping.

Steadman maintained a smile throughout the set, clearly enjoying the performance. "It's been the most fun gig we've played in a really long time," he told the audience. That fun was infectious, too, visible both onstage and in the near-riotous audience, who were somewhere between enthused dance crowd and straight-up mosh pit.

"It's nice to play these smaller shows," MacColl told Spinner. "We get to see everyone in the crowd!"

The band will release the follow up to 2010's 'Flaws' later this year.