★★★★

Nineties shoegaze dreamers Ride reunited in 2015 to the rapt delight of their fans and bemused surprise from the music industry, after a messy split two decades previously.

The four members experienced sudden, unexpected success after forming at college in the late eighties and their live shows saw them heralded as pioneers of the shoegaze scene, much to their disapproval at the time.

Focused on the sound with less regard for the performance, Ride were a band that immersed themselves in their music and inspired fans to do the same through their loud, dynamic, mesmerising shows.

This evening was their second show in two days at Concorde 2, ahead of a weekend performance at Bestival.

Though there were a few sold-out dates last year, for many people in the audience this was the first opportunity they’ve had to see the reunited band and there were attendees from all over the world.

The set started slowly, and between swigs of water and references to the performance of the night before, there was a suggestion that the band might have been recovering from a late night of celebration.

Despite the rather muted start, after a few songs into the ninety-minute set, the opening seconds of ‘Seagull’ caused a ripple of excitement.

The heat rose from hundreds of people jumping and singing along, and the band seemed to kick back into life.

Ride may not have released an album since 1996’s Tarantula, but they have an extensive back catalogue and with few interludes, they rattled through a selection of the popular singles and the lesser known album tracks.

Despite many years apart they performed together smoothly and tightly, with traditionally little interaction and fanfare, and the songs were just as captivating as they ever were.