Childcare, like many bands are a group of people who make and play music. What sets this band apart from any other is their ability to use their ethics and beliefs to captivate so many different types of people. Their debut album Wabi-Sabi is the forefront of their new approach to promoting wellbeing and spirituality. Their gig at Moles, Bath was like no other with moments of complete silence followed by the attempted levitation of different audience members followed by a dozen people dancing and screaming “you fuck like a big freight train” at the top of their lungs.

The evening started with my best friend, our younger brothers and myself singing to a variety of loud indie songs in the Mini with a West Ham sticker plastered on the bonnet, attempting to work out where the car park was. After eventually finding the car park and having our first success of free parking we walked to Moles, a small modern bar which has a long history of live music with bands varying from Don Broco to Oasis. We sat waiting for the first support act to begin who we only knew were playing when we arrived as there was no prior announcement of the support acts. While sat I noticed Ed (Childcare’s lead singer) wearing the same beige outfit he had warn when we saw the band perform at Reading festival and Rich (guitarist) with his faded pink bowl cut and long hair. The music then began and we made our way down to the intimate but relatively large space where The Wedlocks were playing. Their short 30 minute set was filled with songs one would describe as groovy that you could move your hips to, the lead singer Alex was so unapologeticaly him that he had a very quirky and nerdy type of charisma. Their music as Alex himself described it as was a kind of “piano punk” with riffs that would be stuck in your head for days. The music had well crafted lyrics which require some analysis to fully comprehend, however, with a structure for songs that clearly worked well each song, their sings fell under a very similar sound, this in no means was a fault as I spent 30 minutes smiling and enjoying that very unique sound the band had found. The other members of the band lacked the charisma which Alex had which meant the show depended greatly on Alex’s witty humour and entertaining dance moves. An enjoyable start to the evening.

The second support act Sun Spot were not as fun as The Wedlocks, with a much more aware stage presence it was clear that unlike the Wedlocks, Sun Spot were aiming for a specific sound. My issue with this was that many bands distinct sound, such as Slaves comes from the pure passion to make music and it could be any music as long as it meant something to themselves and the audience. Their genre of music was very typical summery indie, as many bands under this genre some of the songs had some catchy hooks however by the end of the set I was not planning on rushing home and adding them to my playlist.

Then, 30 or so minutes later, Childcare waltz on stage. Ed’s calm swagger filled the room & Rich’s quirky smile had a few girls to our left shout his name. David and Emma were clearly less confident from that of Ed and Rich however this did not stop either of them from stealing the lime light with their perfect bass lines and drum fills. As they started to play you could feel how relaxed the room became with a shared joy which connected each individual. The first song Omega Grey is off of their first EP and worked as a fantastic opener with lyrics that frequently get stuck in my head and simply a song that you could dance to. Ed’s peculiar dance moves and simple carelessness made a charisma for him, this charisma however later on became slight arrogance with very little eye contact or seeming care for the audience. This may be due to nerves as after when speaking to Ed he was in no way like this. Emma continuously smiled and waved with obvious concentration on everything she does, her vocals are one of the reasons that Childcare are so special, they are always well placed, the band has a talent for being able to understand when simplicity creates the best sound, the band are very perceptive when writing music. An example of Emma’s angelic voice being used so well is in the sing Bamboo, of course I had heard the song before but seeing her performed it was particularly special because from meeting her and her stage presence it is a fair assumption that she is an introvert, so seeing a person find confidence in such a beautiful song was a special moment for the whole crowd. What I would describe as the first half of the performance was filled with songs with a lot of political messages. Bamboo is a song criticising our generations lack of genuine action, as young people themselves it is a self analysis of this “Retweet Activisim” and an interesting insight into their political perspective. The crowd was clearly enjoying themselves however lacked some enthusiasm partly due to the little engagement with us from the band members, particularly Ed. As the set went on the lack of passion was becoming more apparent in Ed yet Rich and Emma sufficiently made up for this.

The ‘Personal Glory’ section of the evening transformed the energy of the audience and the general feeling between the band and ourselves. This section was part of their new approach to music focusing on well being and general health. The 5 minute interval began with the instruction to close our eyes and hum, as a collective you could hear this hum echo through the room, as intended, the environment changed immensely. Ed began to slowly narrate the journey our body should go through. Explaining how our souls and this feeling of happiness will merge, pushing through the edge of our toes, swimming along our skin, up towards our mind, pressing against each and every one of. We were stood in a dim light surrounded by a dozen or so people echoing this low deep noise, with our eyes closed listening to this stranger explain our spiritual journey, the longer it went on the more emerged I felt. Then as we slowly opened our eyes we are told to greet one another with “May personal glory be with you” this immediately brought each audience member closer together, especially with interaction from the band making this connection more intimate. Then we commenced to humming and closing our eyes, when entering different people were given raffle tickets, the band each took it in turn to call a number. These people were then told they would “levitate”. We as a group slowly made our way closer and closer to the ground with each person pushing and willing themselves to float. It was such an intriguing and unique atmosphere for a gig with many gigs proving to be physical challenges this was a mental get away, almost therapy. Their may be some pretentious aspects to the manour of these “Personal Glory” sessions however the personality of the band made it seem like a genuine attempt at connection.

The music then commenced, the band had crafted the set so well from after the interval, using songs that almost forced you to dance and move to utilise the rapport that had been built between ourselves and each band member. From then on each song felt more meaningful and intimate. The first song of the second half, Put Down Your Pen another message about social media’s toxicity. The message of the song was unfortunately not found in the words of Ed however the upbeat and melodic song enticed several entertaining dance moves. The next two songs were songs you could belt at the top of your lungs, the band were able to flaunt how clean and well rehearsed they were with well timed guitar solos and delicate drum fills. Everybody was in love with the experience of some of the bands most popular songs, imitating the same energy that attracted me to the band in the first place. During ‘Getting Over You’ they invited ourselves and another small group on stage where we belted every word and danced our heart out, Ed clearly enjoys his work however seemed to lack the same love for the fans that Emma and Rich were able to express with a partially cold feeling when dancing beside him. Then once we departed the stage the penultimate song, ‘Sugarcane’ came on, the song containing the iconic line, “You fuck like a big freight train”, clearly a crowd favourite. An upbeat, base filled, indie pop song that with some of Ed’s best vocals yet was spectacular to experience live, a pleasure to witness. Then the final song, ‘Film Club’, arguably their most successful single, for this last song with this gig being their last of the tour they clearly embraced it and went for it, the song was one which every person in the crowd new, all in sync with Ed as we sang until the very last moment. The hour set in which they beautifully filled was well paced and well structured, Rich and Emma’s passion for their music was so clearly portrayed and a genuine connection was made. Meeting all members only confirmed the feeling that the bassist and the guitarist encapsulated on stage.

A fantastic and enlightening evening.

Written by Isaac Lewis