Words by: Lucy Williamson
Photos by: Ciaran Lawrence
It’s a Friday night, and Bristol is buzzing. The Electric Bristol is packed out for an energetic night of live music with Jack Gray, Master Peace, and Good Neighbours at Electric Bristol. It’s fair to say, a staple night in the calendar for Good Neighbours’ Bristol date on their UK tour.
Jack Gray
Armed with a synth, a guitar, and more than their fair share of charisma, Good Health, Good Wealth opened up the night beautifully. Opening the night was Australian bedroom-pop artist and singer-songwriter, Jack Gray. Bringing his laidback personality, belting vocals and catchy lyrics, Jack performed a mix of acoustic ballads and indie tracks, including One Step Back, the bopping track You Can Run, and his latest song release Tattoo.
Master Peace
With the stage flooded with purple and orange lighting, indie artist Master Peace jumped onto the stage, along with his band, for an energetic set to hype up the audience ahead of Good Neighbours. Think party vibes, a sea of jumping, and a heck of a lot of fun.
A particular stand-out was drummer Hattie, who brought so much hype to the set. Another was when the audience was jumping and singing “Don’t wanna go home, Don’t wanna go home, unless it’s with you, unless it’s with you”; just picture, lights flashing, and Master Peace and the audience jumping in sync – absolutely incredible!
Good Neighbours
As we geared up for the indie rock duo to take to the stage, the audience was eagerly waiting in anticipation. The venue is packed out, people are standing shoulder to shoulder, and a gradual build-up of electronic synths to Suburbs started to play, before multi-instrumentalists Oli Fox and Scott Verrill and their incredible band hopped onto a backlit stage to perform Suburbs.
Performing tracks from their debut album Blue Sky Mentality, they played hit after hit, with favourites like Everyday Life and Walk Walk Walk, and the heartfelt song The Buzz, which brought a tear to many people’s eyes. Each track was filled with feel-good storytelling of friendship, community, and togetherness, uplifting lyrics and melodies that truly resonated with the audience.
In between tracks, Oli gave a nod to Good Neighbours’ previous gig in Bristol, just across the road at Rough Trade Bristol, when they celebrated their album launch back in October. A moment that clearly meant a lot to them. The rise of Good Neighbours over the past couple of years has been very well deserved. I first saw the duo perform at Boardmasters on a sunny August afternoon, and they have since supported the likes of Mumford & Sons and Benson Boone.
A highlight of the gig was watching Oli jump and skip from one side of the stage to the other during instrumentals, and then dart back to his microphone while singing and playing the tom drum beside him.
One of the night’s most memorable parts of the gig was Home, where the crowd sang at the top of their lungs, completely swept up in living in the moment. It’s times like this, the collective experience of live music at grassroots music venues, that make it so special.
Not wanting the gig to end, the band returned for an encore, closing the night with Daisies and leaving the crowd buzzing along after the final note when the gig finished at an earlier time of 9:20pm. A truly feel-good night of music and one the 1,000 person crowd will be talking about for weeks to come.
If you have a gig coming up and would be interested in a Whisper review, get in touch!