Live Review: The Magic Gang - Green Store Door, Brighton 13/04/2017

The Magic Gang played a sold out hometown gig at Green Store Door earlier this month kicking off the Bushmills Irish Whiskey Nationwide Tour (featuring more acts like We Are Scientists and Vant) and showed everyone why they’re one of the most hotly tipped bands around right now. 

Only three EPs in (imaginatively titled EP, The Second EP From, and EP 3), the band already have enough bangers for a headline set, with the crowd surfing starting early and continuing throughout the show. The band themselves are clearly having a great time too, riding the wave of exuberance that comes from a mixture of selling out a show, playing to a room full of sweat-soaked fans, and probably a dash of the free whiskey, too.

Tracks from the three EPS overlap gloriously at the gig, with The Magic Gang showcasing not only how far they’ve come in a relatively short space of time, but also how consistently good they’ve managed to stay. Each song has a different flavour, but picking a standout track is tough due to the sheer quality of them all. “How Can I Compete” from their most recent EP gets a massive crowd response, but so does “Jasmine”, one of the first songs they released, and both have the entire crowd singing along as if they’re at a greatest hits arena show, rather than watching a fledgling band on the cusp of a breakthrough.

The bottom line? The Magic Gang are great live, and anyone who gets the chance should go and see them. They’re even better than free whiskey, and much less likely to give you a hangover.

Review by Jakes Hawkes