Another one, like Inhaler last time out,
where I wasn’t entirely sure what I was letting myself in for, in more ways
than one! I’d finally taken notice of The Lottery Winners at their Frank Turner
show 3,000 support slot (my gig 1,370) and been thoroughly entertained by some
buoyant and affirmative Summery indie pop, delivered with an open-hearted
enthusiasm by main man Tom Rylance and his cohorts. Said date bookended an
Academy-level jaunt in advance of new, 4th (!) album “Koko” so I
just missed them in their own right; however they then announced a slew of much
smaller “Chart Celebration Out-Store” dates, the closest being at Oxford’s snug
Bullingdon Arms, so I pounced quickly before it sold out in short order.
After an afternoon at Rachel’s 50th birthday gathering, I set off at 6.15, again not knowing what to expect (low key? Short set + meet and greet, or full-on gig?). What I definitely didn’t expect or want, though, was to join a full on ma-hoosive queue 15 minutes after doors, thereafter taking another half hour to get in, thanks to one bloke only on the door checking names off a ledger (and missing plenty, including the group in front of me who took 2 or 3 minutes to get sorted!) when we all had Dice electronic tix which should have taken a second to scan. Utterly fucking pathetic, and I was glad I’d stopped for a wee in a layby on the outskirts of Oxford! Anyway, once in I squirmed my way to the merch stand to claim my CD and grabbed a viewing spot house left, right behind Swindon gig friend Joanne! So, had a bit of company as support The Valla took the stage, late at 8 due to some tech issues. Led by a vocalist sporting an excellent suit bearing slogans of things that clearly piss him off (the likes of homophobia, sexism, landlords and his boss falling into his crosshairs), they were initially quite chameleonic stylistically (opener “Making Waves” a Bowie Ziggy-esque glam tune, the next a big brassy 70’s funk number complete with falsetto vocal) before settling down into a ringing and upbeat Britpoppy powerpop noise not a million miles removed from tonight’s headliners. “Make It Stop” (incidentally the slogan on the back of the vocalist’s jacket) was their best number, a protest plea against all the inequalities of the world – so plenty, then! Overall, eminently listenable if hardly original openers.
More tech issues meant an extended and uncomfortable wait in this utterly rammed venue; no meet and greet tonight then – no room! The Lottery Winners took the stage at 9.10 to a rapt reception, Rylance confessing in his effete Alan Carr tones, “oh, we’ve had a stressful time! We might have to do this gig Acapulco!” before suffering even more gremlins, forcing him to go off and come back on again before kicking into opener “Worry” and the huge chant-along chorus of a subsequent “Meaning Of Life”. Nice start!
The Lottery Winners operate in a Summery, upbeat Britpoppy sonic envelope, with infectiously catchy choral hooks recalling the likes of Boo Radleys, Wonder Stuff and most notably Lightning Seeds for me. Again, not pulling up any trees stylistically then, but two elements set them apart, particularly onstage. Firstly, their lyrical subject matter, centring around affirmative and inclusive messages such as managing mental health issues and anxiety (the aforementioned “Worry”), ADHD (the brilliant “Superpower”) and feeling different and finding your tribe (set highlight, the later “Letter To Myself”); and secondly, the sheer joyful scattergun spontaneity of their performance, case in point being a totally unplanned (and pretty reverential actually) go at Joy Division’s classic “Love Will Tear Us Apart”. Why? They just felt like it…
This approach felt like a leitmotif for the set overall, Tom and co regularly going off on wild tangents. Snow Patrol and their number one album tally got numerous mentions, Rylance giggling at the comparison (“he’s Gary Lightbody; I’m Tom Heavybody!”); some punters threw Canada caps onstage, Tom donning a spangly one and prompting bandmate Rob Lally to comment, “if Elton John was in Limp Bizkit…” and a heckler was invited onstage to sing lead vocals on another unplanned cover, this one the Madness version of “It Must Be Love” (a song I’ve never liked, and honestly could have done without that piece of vaudeville tonight). That aside, it was mostly entertaining, and there was always a cracking original with a positive message just around the corner (e.g. newie “UFO”, preceded by Tom’s comment of, “if you don’t fit into a building, it’s the building that has to change, not you!”). “Letter” finished the set proper, a couple of encores including the slightly throwaway “Turn Around” (“it’s so fucking stupid, I love it!” exclaiming Rylance), and the herky jerky “Burning House” rounding off a fun overall 1 hour 20, the band happily making no concessions to the small crowd and delivering a full-length set. Caught my breath before giving Joanne a lift home to the ‘don, home myself for 11.45. As I mentioned, I wasn’t sure what I was letting myself in for with The Lottery Winners tonight; I’m still not entirely sure, but it was darn good fun overall, whatever it was!
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