Hard-Fi: Live in London… near Staines

Hard-Fi at The London Roundhouse, Camden (30.11.2024) with Better Joy + The Velvet Hands supporting.

Been looking forward to this trip for a while. The last date of Hard-Fi’s Don’t Go Making Plans Tour – that’s the new EP, which they play three tracks from tonight.

The anticipation comes from seeing the band once back in 2007, having all of their three albums and then just having a festival live taster since they reformed in 2022, after an eight year break. That 2022 festival slot came at Victorious Festival.

At the 2007 Bournemouth BIC gig, the merch stand had signed live CDs from the Glasgow gig a few days earlier. I had to buy one.

I guess it’s the Staines thing that enhanced my early interest. I spent the first 16 years of my life living four miles from Staines (before it added its ‘upon Thames’ suffix), down the Staines Road West in Ashford Common. I can’t recall any other bands making it from Staines. Hard-Fi were formed there. I remember seeing a Dials gig in the Town Hall. I supported Staines Town FC and even worked in Staines McDonald’s for a bit.

Tonight, The Roundhouse. One of my favourite venues and sellout crowd on a Saturday night. (My venue blog of The Roundhouse is here.)

Two support bands tonight, that we watch from the side balcony members’ area. First, The Velvet Hands, London based but originally from Falmouth, Cornwall, and second, Better Joy, from Manchester. Both are bands I’d go and see again and I particularly liked The Velvet Hands on a first listen.

A side view may not seem ideal but it’s a relaxed raised bar to watch the support bands from, before moving round to tonight’s front row seats of the shallow circular Roundhouse balcony. Great crowd view.

The Velvet Hands are a brash, rough and thumping indie rock band. A short set was enough to have me interested. Garage rock you can dance to is a term they are using about themselves.

Better Joy maybe of broader appeal with a lighter sound, significantly fronted by Bria Keely who had the star quality look. Clearly wowed by the experience of the sellout crowd with a whoop of “We’re gonna have a good time tonight. Oh my god it’s the f*cking Roundhouse”. It is indeed. I’m excited as well.

The crowd swells even more as the concourse bars empty. We peer over the balcony in anticipation. It’s a beautiful sight.

An appreciative roar as Hard-Fi arrive on stage – it’s a celebration – the end of the tour – the London gig and as close a homecoming as Staines suburbanites can get.

An upbeat start with Middle Eastern Holiday. This is essentially a Stars of CCTV revisited tour, with the bonus of the new EP: Don’t Go Making Plans.

Richard Archer is clearly delighted to see everyone – what a grand final date – in what he exclaims is “the best f*cking city on the whole planet”. (One for further discussion, but not now!)

He says he’s struggling with his voice a bit and pleads for help – support and vocal assistance he gets throughout the set with the familiar CCTV songs. There are nine songs from that first album – no room for Feltham is Singing Out (not the only great song about the local borstal as Jimmy Pursey would say).

Hard-Fi are quite a mix of sounds and that first album was something a bit different at the time, certainly for me – it didn’t drop easily into a particular genre. The lyrics draw on everyday life scenarios and the music was a genuinely new mix with a bit of soul and pop on the indie rock base.

The start of Cash Machine with that distinctive harmonica brings a roar as we get to another anthem of the noughties, the band’s first single. Here’s a recording of that from my camera on my YouTube channel.

There is room for just two songs from the 2007 second album, Once Upon A Time In The West. The fabulous anthem for outer London, Suburban Knights and the slower I Shall Overcome.

The main set ends with the tight and abrupt, Hard to Beat. So good to hear all this played live again.

Richard Archer returns alone with his guitar for Move on Now. Then it was obvious what had to come next – the classics, Stars of CCTV and Living for the Weekend. It’s Saturday night after all. A joyous bouncing and singing along from a smiling crowd.

A really enjoyable night out this one. It had to be Saturday. It had to be London. Maybe a gig in Staines next time – I did notice they played a warm-up gig at the Thames Brewery in Staines a few weeks back. Next time eh.

The sound of the suburbs, 21st century style.