Chicago’s babysitters were in short supply on May 16—every hip parent in the city was at Ride’s performance at Metro Chicago. The shoegaze band reunited in 2014 after breaking up following a 1988–96 stint. The concert’s attendees were clearly fans from the band’s original touring season; a decisive cheer erupted after singer and guitarist Mark Gardener asked who had been there for the band’s first run.
The band’s British roots and audience shone throughout the performance. From pints of lager passed over the bar to Union Jack tattoos and hats, the crowd leaned into a night of unashamed Britishness. The band did as well; the lights fluctuated between red and blue for nearly every performance, with a hint of green. (Erin go braugh?) While singer and guitarist Andy Bell riffed, Gardener prompted the crowd to lift their pints in the air, drinking to Ride as the beat dropped.
Ride’s breakup in 1996 was due to a disagreement between Gardener and Bell over the musical direction of the band. They each took a side of 1996’s Tarantula. Not much later, Gardener announced his exit. After a 20-year break and 10 years on their second touring season, they’ve rediscovered their concord. Ride’s new sound is more mature, oozing with self-reflection rather than misanthropy and sensuality. In 2024’s “Light in a Quiet Room,” they sing, “I never took any good advice / I rode my luck for most of my life.” Other songs on the 2024 album, “Interplay,” take on aging, dreams, and living in the moment. The band was one of the pioneers of shoegaze. After the split, Bell joined Oasis, one of the “big two” bands of Britpop, and drummer Loz Colbert joined The Jesus and Mary Chain. These contemporary influences came through in the stronger production quality of their newer music. Nearly 40 years from when they began touring, Ride knows who they are.
It’s clear how deeply the band members enjoy playing their older songs to this day. Ride knows the music like the back of their hand; however, they don’t perform like they’re reliving old glories. Rather, the performance serves as a visual reminder of Ride’s evolving audience. As the fans have matured, so have they. Their new music may not elicit the same audience reaction as the classic tunes, but it reflects an older, wiser collaborative force. In the mid-2000s, Bell originally rejected reforming the band, worried that it couldn’t live up to expectations. The band’s performance at Metro proved that the decades didn’t dim their skills; rather, the journeys of each member during their time apart brought them together as stronger individuals and musicians.
Bell and Gardener aggregated their refined vocal and instrumental talents well, accompanied by Colbert on drums and Steve Queralt on bass. The performance exhilarated the crowd, each song’s opening chords triggering raucous cheers. No fan stood still; fierce head bobs, intense air guitar, and energetic frat flicks were just some of the reactions Ride’s performance elicited. While they crooned, “In a sense, you start again,” white lights shone down upon the stage—the two signs of rebirth a nod to the band’s new, full-grown iteration.
As Ride returned for its encore, the Union Jack hues were replaced with vaporwave-esque scenery. Cyan, indigo, and tangerine hues danced across the stage while, in the pit, audience members released their inhibitions. The audience clapped as one unit to the beat while Gardener and Bell looked warmly into each other’s eyes, a far cry from the discord that caused their split. With nearly four decades of shared history, their new tour proves that Ride has finally found its harmony.
