If their name is anything to go by, the gig in Brighton on March 22nd at Chalk felt like we had won the lottery for being able to be there. The four-piece indie pop band put on one hell of a show and everyone in the room shared their love for it.
The band, which formed in 2008, is currently on their This is How It Feels UK tour, and what a show they put on for the fourth stop on the road. The room was packed and full of energy for The Lottery Winners before they even came on stage. Supported by Barbara and Crystal Tides, this lineup was not one to miss.
Around 8:50pm the room was buzzing as the band entered the stage, I will admit I hadn’t had the chance to catch a show from The Lottery Winners before so I wasn’t aware of the treat I was about to experience. As the intro played, the band entered the stage with an array of cheers from fans. Frontman Thom Rylance ran onto the stage with a GoPro which as crowds quietened down he announced he didn’t know how to turn it off. Proceeding to tell fans about his day. “I’ve had a lovely day in Brighton, I’ve been to the beach, built a lovely rock castle, cos you’ve got no f’kin sand” Gaining a laugh from the audience. Afterward, he placed down the GoPro and restarted his entrance onto stage running back and forth and asking the crowd if anyone was worried as they started breaking out into their song “Worry“
Fans grew ecstatic with energy, their crowd was older than I was expecting but they gave just as much as a crowd of younger fans would, if not more. Surrounding me were drunk women and men bouncing around to every beat. One main focus was on Thom Rylance, his stage presence and audience interaction were out of this world. Constantly cracking jokes and talking to the crowd more than most bands I’ve seen in a long time, it was almost a two-for-one comedy and music night. Before the second song he started talking to the crowd again claiming “I feel cool, like a rock star, do I look one, No? I look like Elton John… if he wasn’t famous” and proceeding to ask the crowd if it was anyone’s first time at a Lottery Winners show, before breaking out into “Hey Jude“ and responding with “told you, you already know the words, I am a genius” after the crowd started singing along. “I’ve ruined it now, even the Beatles didn’t play that one second!”
The band took turns with as lead singer which was nice to be able to showcase all their talents, with “Let Me Down“ sung by Rob Lally who came onto the center stage, and “85 Trips” led by Bassist Katie Lloyd as Thom walked around the stage creating a drawing during the 3-minute song. After the song he presented his drawing to the crowd, asking if anyone wanted it before saying he doesn’t give them away anymore due to finding one on eBay, so he got them scanned and printed 12 copies at the merch stand.
The gig then slowed down with the song “Overthink Everything” where the crowd pulled out their phones making a beautiful moment for everyone in the room. This moment quickly became a game as Thom started the ‘turn off’ the lights by Zapping them with his hands claiming it was like a game of whack-a-mole.
One highlight of this show was just the incredible introductions and his perfect way of plugging merch and other information. He joked about the Tea Towels at the merch stand, claiming only people over 50 wanted them, picking on someone who shouted they bought one, and telling the band they were in fact over 50. This blends perfectly into asking fans to raise a hand if they wanted one, counting up to 21 before belting into the song “21”
With one song left to close, fans put all their energy into “Start Again“ before the band ran off the stage. Yet, luckily this was not the end as the band returned to the stage for a two-song encore featuring songs from their latest album release Anxiety Replacement Therapy. Playing one of our favorite tracks “Letter To Myself” and just before playing “Burning House” the famous GoPro made its return, again with another comedic show of Thom not being able to switch the record on this time. He ran around the stage during “Burning House” filming for their Instagram. As the song finished the show came to a close much to everyone’s disappointment.
The Lottery Winners are such an incredible band, both with personality and talent. You could tell just how well the chemistry is within the band and the live shows reflect that in all the best ways. If you have the chance to catch them, you’d be a fool not to.