Almost a week after what can only be described as a career pinnacle, Sports Team are still riding high from a triumphant headline slot at Scala. As sweaty, joyous and tongue-in-cheek as all the reviews have painted it out to be, it’s a definable milestone in the band’s career and a perfect end to a stellar summer.
The set finale is the snapshot every audience member will have imprinted in their brain’s; perched atop a speaker stack, dressed in a suit for the occasion, Alex Rice watches, enthralled, as a ferocious tide of crowd surfers bob to the surface before falling back under as set-closer Kutcher, an indie anthem for the ages, rings out around the venue. Balloons descend from a cage on the ceiling. A hand-made, tin foil sculpture of a shark (10 points for effort, guys) sits in the corner. Sweat gleams from every single person’s orifices. Fuck Robbie at Knebworth, this is the kind of intimate, grin-inducing set that bands surely live for.
The Guardian called it a reminder of why indie made it back from the brink and well, no one’s going to argue with The Guardian, right?
Here’s a gallery of images delineating the night, courtesy of Connor Willis.
