It's Raining Beer At The Rifles' 10th Anniversary Show

The last time we saw The Rifles was in 2009 at a nightclub venue in Hitchin. The venue was over capacity by 150 people, the stage barriers went over on the 2nd song, and bouncers had to get on stage to stop the stage invasions. I remember trying to keep the PA upright thinking that the floor was going to buckle under the pressure but the band played on because The Rifles are a band that aren’t it for the fame, they are together to play music for the fans.

Tonight the London 4 piece are playing the second of four SOLD OUT nights at Camden's Electric Ballroom to celebrate 10 years together by playing their first album "No Love Lost" in all its entirety including all the B-sides.

The mods and indie fans are out in force and the atmosphere inside is feeling like a build up to an FA Cup final match. The bands aren’t on for another half an hour but even the sound desk has its waterproof coat on ready for inevitable pint chucking.

And the pints rain down when the band launch into their opening song and 3rd single "Repeated Offender" and instantly you can see a powerful visible connection between the band and their boozed up crowd who are launching themselves around the ballroom. They storm through “One Night Stand”, “Peace and Quiet” and then surprise us with a cover of The Specials’ “Rat Race” which gives a nod to their influences. There is then a moment of calm as singer Joel plays some acoustic numbers before being rejoined by the band to play a cover of The Cure’s “Inbetween Days” before leaving the stage for the inevitable encore.

They finish with old favorites “She’s Got Standards”, “Local Boy” and “Romeo & Juliet” and everyone is singing every word and grinning from ear to ear. It’s great to see that The Rifles are still a great live band and have an incredible energy about them and still have one of the most loyal fan bases around. Even after the gig Joel is on the decks for the after party and the rest of the band can be seen wandering around the beer flooded venue talking to fans and having their picture taken.

Tonight’s been a night to relive some of that magic from 2005, we’ve made a few friends and had a right blast.

Words by Lindsay Melbourne

To find out more about The Rifles, click here.

To visit the band's Facebook page, click here.

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