Slowdive
Photos and review by Jennie Book
@jenniebookphotography
I was a little bit too pop-electronic-focused in the 90s to be fully engrossed in the shoegaze movement, but I still always had an appreciation for the bands in the scene – Pale Saints, Chapterhouse, Catherine Wheel, Slowdive. As the world moved into glossy pop and emo, the genre seemed to go out-of-sight out-of-mind-quiet, but then once in awhile bands like The Fauns would emerge for a little resuscitation, and others began to follow, and then all the originals slowly began to move into the light again.
I didn’t know how much sway slowdive still had until I saw they were playing The Fox in Oakland, and even then I thought maybe they’d been mis-booked there instead of the Regency Ballroom. But after seeing the crowd I think I know why the large venue was needed– TikTok has gotten ahold of slowdive and introduced them to a brand new demographic. It wasn’t teenagers with parents at the show, it was teenagers with teenagers at the show, up front and center against the barricade.
As for slowdive themselves, they’ve had some ups and downs through the years, quitting circa 1995 with the majority of them starting the band Mojave 3. But then in 2014 they started up again with Rachel Goswell, Neil Halstead, Nick Chaplin, Christian Savill, and Simon Scott, and put out the eponymous Slowdive album in 2017. This led to listener excitement and some touring, and in 2023 they followed 2017’s release with the gorgeous everything is alive record.
The show at the Fox on May 11th gave us 16 songs, including a three-song encore, made up of old and new tracks like “Avalyn,” (the first song of the night), “40 Days,” (the last song of the night), and many greats in between like “Shanty,” “Sugar for the Pill,” and “Star Roving.” The five bandmates looked like they were having a fun time on stage, and it’s always a treat when a singer (Goswell, on this night) looks right at your camera and smiles a real smile, sharing their own joy like a gift.
Slowdive has one more standalone show in the US in Oregon, then plays Kilby Block Party in Utah, and then hops the pond to the UK and Europe for a spate of summertime shows. Catch them where you can, and if you’re a Slowdive OG get ready to elbow those youngsters out of the way for your rightful spot at the front.
For all the latest check out www.slowdiveofficial.com.
