Ranging from indie-loving BBC Radio 6Music fans to former ravers with their hands in the air, it would be hard to find a more mixed audience than the one watching Public Service Broadcasting.
And this was where J Willgoose Esq’s band worked.
Their sound didn’t neatly fit into a box, mixing laptops, countless guitars, live drums, Willgoose’s banjo and the vintage audio samples which form the backbone of the music.
Mr B – the fourth bespectacled member onstage – provided the ever-changing archive visuals and onstage footage broadcast on big screens behind the stage and towers of televisions.
With latest album The Race For Space Public Service Broadcasting touched on themes which have a universal interest.
A suite of space songs near the end of the set was stunning – in particular The Other Side, recounting when Apollo 8 went behind the moon and all contact was lost with Houston for a few seconds. The screens behind the band went black in tribute.
But Willgoose also mixed in old favourites, including the career-making Second World War tale London Can Take It and set highlight Spitfire.
Overlooking it all was Mr B’s take on Sputnik - moving from symbol of Soviet space exploration to glitterball.
Providing both a history lesson and a euphoric night out Public Service Broadcasting are heading for the stars with this current tour.
Five stars
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