THE GO! Team returned to the stage in Reading for their first show in the town for 15 years when they performed at Sub89 on Thursday, March 9.
The show started with Baba Ali, a two-piece outfit whose sound was laced with 80’s-tinged synth with the aesthetic to match.
The lead singer’s resonant vocals were well-matched with the band’s stripped-down aesthetic in an instantly danceable set full of hooky anthems.
When The Go! Team took to the stage, Wokingham-born songwriter Ian Parton was flanked by five fellow band mates.
The band kicked off in their usual style, barrelling straight into high-energy performances of some of the hits from their 20-year career.
Major songs of the band’s Mercury Prize-nominated first album came thick and fast, including Ladyflash, Huddle Formation, and Get It Together.
Sea Between Us, Gemini, and Key to the City rapidly followed before The Power is On seemed to close the show.
The band returned swiftly, however, to play a one-two punch of an encore with the breakout hit from their latest album, Whammy-O, and Tornado.
Overall, The Go! Team showed that not only is their lyrical and musical composition as fresh as it ever has been, but also that their performing talent, multi-instrumentalist capabilities, and dynamism on stage has never left them.
