Sports Team stop off at Glasgow’s SWG3
Support came from Welly and mary in the junkyard.
Photo: Isla Kerr
Sports Team stopped off in Glasgow this past Tuesday night on their UK tour, ahead of upcoming album Boys These Days. A triple header of Welly, mary in the junkyard and, of course, the Cambridge six piece themselves was bound to be a night to remember.
Welly kicked things off with an energetic opening slot. Last year saw the tongue in cheek band tour Village Halls across the UK. Their characters are well suited to riling up a crowd of any size or description and this came in handy tonight as they took to stage only fifteen minutes after doors.
Dressed in a variety of sports gear with vocalist Elliot even sporting a whistle around his neck, the room was instantly transported into a strange sort of PE class-like environment. They ran around stage and jumped up and down while painfully relatable and embarrassingly funny lyrics sounded out.
Photo: Isla Kerr
mary in the junkyard have had a pretty stellar year and this tour with Sports Team seems like the final cherry atop their 2024 cake. While the two bands bring very different things to their live performances, they compliment each other well. The three-piece are yet to release their first album but have already amassed a notable fan base. The crowd stood and swayed in awed, silence tonight as they played a selection of their music.
Sports Team have gained quite the reputation for their live performances since their debut album Deep Down Happy gained traction back in 2020.
Frontman Alex Rice took to the mic between tracks, notably announcing, “It’s good to be back in Glasgow”. The crowd responded with cheers and he soon told the tale of a memory he had of the city’s famed King Tuts. Recounting a list of things he wouldn’t encourage a crowd to do, which included a human centipede and human pyramid. He requested tonight the crowd try their best to perform the latter and promised Ben (keys) would sing if they succeeded.
Fishing sparked a new lease of life in the band and the crowd stepped up too — completing their human pyramid impressively well. Ben kept his bargain and, as Alex shoved the mic in his direction, he launched into Need You Now by Lady A.
An encore of the bands smash hit: Here’s The Thing and first ever release Stanton rounded out the night perfectly as the crowd buzzed with a frantic energy.
A jam packed night of entertainment from two exciting newcomers and a well established pack of performers. Boys Like These releases this February and will be Sports Teams second album. Give it a spin!
All photos by Isla Kerr.