Ride and The Charlatans Put On a Songfest at The Fillmore

Ride, The Charlatans
The Fillmore Auditorium
February 17, 2023

Photos by Raymond Ahner

What happens when one the biggest shoegaze bands from the 1990’s go on tour with one of the biggest Britpop bands1900’s? You get the “Between the Nowhere” tour, which pairs Ride with The Charlatans, each of whom are playing one of their seminal albums. The pair recently pulled up to The Fillmore in San Francisco, where they performed to a sold-out crowd that sang along to every song. Both bands were clearly missed, having returned to the city for the first time in a few years.

Walking out onto the stage with phone in hand to document the moment, Tim Burgess and The Charlatans immediately launched into “I Don’t Want to See the Sights,” off their second release Between 10th and 11th, and proceeded to play just about the entire record. Their fans loved “Weirdo” and “Chewing Gum Weekend,” and after wrapping up that portion of their set they brought down the house with “The Only One I Know,” which was one of the biggest alternative hits of the 90s. By the time they wrapped up their fifteen-song, one hour and 15 minute set with “Sproston Green,” the at capacity crowd was definitely pumped up, and ready for Ride.

After a brief intermission it was time for Ride, who, playing their debut album Nowhere, kicked off their set with “Seagull.” The guitar tone of Andy Bell was just as heavy and ear shattering as always, and seemed even a bit heavier on “Polar Bear,” and “Dreams Burn Down.” The band let their music do most of the talking, and besides bringing out The Charlatans Tim Burgess for harmonica on ‘Hear and Now,” kept it simple, but overwhelmingly precise and on-point. After wrapping up their set with “Nowhere,” Ride left the stage, only to return a few minutes later for a four-song encore, highlighted by “Leave Them All Behind.”

Here’s a slideshow with more photos of both bands by Raymond Ahner: