When Gene Simmons said that “rock is dead,” he was undeniably and provably mistaken. Though rock’n’roll may not dominate the charts and headlines like it might’ve in decades past, the genre still has an uncountable number of diehard fans and a plethora of exciting acts to match. The Garage in London saw a sold-out show this Saturday, with droves of listeners coming out to dance along to the bouncy grooves of The Night Flight Orchestra, just one day after new album ‘Give Us the Moon’ released. From the number of aviator sunglasses, pilot’s hats and massive smiles you could find around the venue, we think it’s safe to say that rock is in safe hands with this loveable group, who’s latest show had us grinning from ear-to-ear throughout.

For as bright and accessible as their sound may be, performances at festivals like Bloodstock have left The Night Flight Orchestra with a fair few metalhead fans— support act Tragedy were there to satisfy those battle jacket wearers, dialling in a heavier, more guitar-focused sound to open up the show. Really, though, who are we kidding: the magic of Tragedy’s show was, first and foremost, in its carefree, whimsical presentation. Playing a set of metal covers— mostly of the Bee Gees, ABBA and the Grease soundtrack— the New York six-piece injected a wonderful dose of comedy into their show, taking themselves as unseriously as humanly possible and leaving us in stitches in the process. From their doom metal cover of Neil Diamond’s ‘Sweet Caroline’ to the needless technical guitar sweeping on ABBA’s ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight),’ the band had fully committed to injecting metal into these classic hits, and the result was a groovy, if slightly uncanny, crop of tracks. Transitioning seamlessly from Slayer’s ‘Raining Blood’ into ‘It’s Raining Men’ by The Weather Girls, ridiculous as it may sound, fit perfectly alongside jokes about drinking semen, and it’s impossible to argue that Tragedy didn’t turn the zaniness up to eleven from start to finish

The band were hardly just a joke though, delivering those covers in a shockingly well-executed manner. Cuts like ‘How Deep Is Your Love’ benefitted from four-part vocal harmonies that showered the entire set in glitz and glamour, while the ferocious thrash-inspired drumming, driving bass playing and stunning guitar solos managed to capture the spirit of metal to a tee— Tragedy straddled the line between parody and talent perfectly, leaving us both laughing and head-banging throughout. In fact, the worst moments of the show came when this delicate balance was upset when the group would sacrifice a little too much musicality in favour of comedy. With the band bouncing around the stage constantly, it’s no surprise that not every lead vocal was quite as strong as you might hope for, and many covers felt fairly indistinguishable from one another before the choruses kicked in: these were, admittedly, dwarfed by the comedy and joyousness of the set though, and we can’t deny how much fun we had with Tragedy.

We’d also be amiss not to mention the group’s sixth member, dubbed ‘Lance.’ Traipsing across the stage in a nightgown for most of the show, Lance added absolutely nothing to Tragedy’s music, spending the set playing air-guitar with a towel and strumming along on an unplugged ukulele— despite that, he absolutely made the show, only taking each song to a new height of ridiculousness. Whether he was dancing with blow-up sex dolls to ‘You’re The One I Want’ or constantly towelling the other members of the band, we couldn’t take our eyes off this hilarious lycra-adorned star for a second. It’s a bold move to bring a purely-comedic member with you on tour, and we can’t deny that Tragedy pulled it off in spades— whether you’d call them a covers band or an act of satire, they had the Garage in fits of laughter.

It was impressive to even see The Night Flight Orchestra fit onto the stage at the Garage— cramming three keyboards, a drum kit and all eight members together was a feat unto itself. The band were perhaps a little squashed on the stage, though they were clearly still loving every moment as they launched into ‘Stratus’ with ease, kicking this off on a roaring note. The band’s sound was so shockingly well-captured live, you might’ve sworn you were hearing their studio output! The entire group seemed incapable of missing a note for the entire show, with every new guitar solo and keys embellishment fitting into the well-rounded mix beautifully.

That’s not to say, though, that NFO’s live sound was tame, as the band were able to amp up each track when needed. Brygård and Lundman’s soprano backing vocals pierced through the sound every time, adding extra weight to each chorus and hook as the pair reached increasingly dizzying notes. The standout member, however, was of course frontman Björn Strid, who’s flamboyant shoulder pads and aviator sunglasses captured the carefree spirit of the group perfectly. It’s fair to say that Strid must be one of the best frontman in modern rock, bringing a seemingly endless supply of energy to every single song— between his soothing low vocals, bellowing highs and moments of ol’ fashioned rock rasp, he had us in the palm of his hand.

A number of tracks from new album ‘Give Us The Moon’ made the setlist this time around— they were always a welcome addition, even if the band weren’t quite as confident performing them. Singles ‘Shooting Velvet’ and ‘Way To Spend The Night’ made for anthemic moments, helped out tremendously by their catchy backing vocals, while deeper cuts ‘Paloma’ and ‘Cosmic Tide’ brought some nice variety to the show— the former even represented a more touching moment, with Strid calling it a ‘liberation anthem’ for a friend in a toxic relationship. 

NFO were clearly much more in-their-element when jamming on their classic hits, reinvigorating themselves with energy that the crowd was more-than-happy to return. Singles like ‘Satellite,’ ‘Gemini’ and ‘Divinyls’ had everyone singing along, even drowning out of band themselves at times— really, it’s unfair that one band should have access to so many catchy hits like these. It was also excellent to see the band pulling from all-throughout their career, with several tracks coming from the group’s debut record ‘Internal Affairs’— ‘Transatlantic Blues,’ with its soulful keys elements, marked a more meditative moment in the set, while closer ‘West Ruth Ave’ had the entire place in one giant conga-line round the venue.

The biggest problem with this show from The Night Flight Orchestra was that their larger-than-life, extravagant performance deserved a larger venue— even cramped as they were at the Garage, the band bought a joyous and bright energy that had the entire place dancing. It’s impossible to imagine someone failing to have a good time at an NFO show: truly, their live show (when combined with the comfy hijinks of Tragedy) was a celebration. With Strid expressing his desire for a proper UK tour, we may well be back to more off-the-wall fun with the band soon— the new tracks from ‘Give Us The Moon’ are only going to improve for the live setting, and those classic hits are never getting old.