Strip away the lights and the spectacle, and what’s left is that balance they’ve mastered: heartbreaking emotion meets ridiculous silliness.
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Sessions · Playlists · Behind the scenes
To say Geese are THE band of the moment would be an understatement. While headline nights for bands soaring into a new prime can come thick and fast, there’s a different tier reserved for shows that land firmly in Gigs Of The Year lists. A combination of right time, right place and a bucketload of anticipation, tonight at Eventim Apollo is one of those nights.
Geese’s rise over the past 12 months has been stunning. The spellbinding trickles of frontman Cameron Winter’s solo album laid the springboard for ‘Getting Killed’, a third album that’s taken no prisoners and become a ubiquitous soundtrack for guitar music fans and beyond. More than just a band, they arrive in London as a cultural reference point – the coolest gang on the block, with a buzz that feels ready to spill out across Hammersmith at any moment. The result? The hottest ticket in town.
For a night primed to go down in folklore, Westside Cowboy have their own eyes fixed firmly on the future. If their status as one of the UK’s most exciting new bands wasn’t already clear, tonight they make it undeniable. ‘Can’t See’ and ‘Don’t Throw Rocks’ hit like runaway bulldozers of indie-rock fuzz, and unreleased track ‘Pinup Boys’ leans into sharp push-and-pull hooks. They have the Eventim Apollo in the palm of their hands as ‘The Wahs’ ricochets across the room for a set that is pure excitement distilled in a refreshing bottle of fun. When they close the set gathered around the mic singing ‘In The Morning’ harmonies and all with the lights on, Westside Cowboy have everyone hungry for where they go next.
No faff. No fuss. Geese walk on, Cameron Winter offers a simple “Hello”, and they launch straight into ‘Husbands’.
There are rare moments where everything about a band clicks into something bigger, and as the opening punch of ‘Getting Killed’ lands, pints and bodies flying, Geese hit a level that feels untouchable. With a set leaning heavily on the album that’s pushed them into global attention, there’s a precision to everything they do that still feels loose, instinctive. The crowd moves as one – a tidal wave through ‘Islands Of Men’, before ‘Bow Down’ tears through any lingering restraint.
When they dip into ‘3D Country’, they’re met with a new ferociousness. ‘Crusades’ sees the entire floor bounce in unison like you’re watching a landmark gig on YouTube from a festival moment in the 90s/00s, but it’s no nostalgia. Just Geese creating more history for themselves as ‘2122’ is bellowed back and ‘I See Myself’ going back to back with ‘Cowboy Nudes’ that sets off a closing run that somehow goes even bigger than everything before.
At the centre of it all is a band tapping into something instinctive. Strip away the lights and the spectacle, and what’s left is that balance they’ve mastered: heartbreaking emotion meets ridiculous silliness. ‘Half Real’ pulls the Eventim Apollo close while the one-two of ‘Au Pays Du Cocaine’ and ‘Taxes’ knocks everyone for six in the best way.
‘Long Island City Here I Come’ sees Cameron Winter dive forward as the song builds and builds, while new track ‘Apollo’ – introduced as “a song about the moon” – sees them continue to defy expectation.
As ‘Trinidad’ threatens to demolish the foundations of the Eventim Apollo, Geese sit with not only a storming night in London under their belt, not only one of the standout gigs of the entire year, but also a generational event for a band on a generational run. History in real time, some would say.
