IN CONCERT: Getdown Services - Baby’s All Right, October 2nd 2025

Nov 12

Concert review by Skye Matlock, photography by Tommy Krause

Getdown Services at Baby’s All Right by Tommy Krause

U.K. band Getdown Services made their U.S. debut last week, with New York as their first stop. Friends and fans had given them plenty of tips on where to eat, what to see—but selling out two of the city’s most vital underground rooms was a far better crash course in culture than a ride on the Cyclone.

Josh Law and Ben Sadler, the Bristol-based pair behind the project, opened their first U.S. run with back-to-back sold-out nights. Starting in Manhattan at Nightclub 101 with Brooklyn to follow at Baby’s All Right, before heading west to Chicago and L.A. Nearly every European date through January 2026 is already stamped “sold out.” There’s a sense that whatever they’re doing, they’re not just doing it for the first time—they’re doing it right.

Their latest EP, Primordial Slot Machine, captures that very energy: it’s ripe with warped pop hooks clashing with industrial pulse and humor rubbing elbows with the unease of reality.

Getdown Services at Baby’s All Right by Tommy Krause

COME ON

The 280-cap room was still blinking out of Litronix’s hypnotic glare when Josh and Ben walked onstage in matching black Adidas tees and basketball shorts. No dramatic entrance, no ambient drone to fill the silence—just two mics, a Novation circuit, and a Telecaster that Josh mentioned, casually, belonged to the guitarist of Interpol.

Ben leaned into the mic with his arms stretched out and fingers motioning forward. He exclaimed “Give me a woo,” coaxing the crowd like an orchestra conductor. The sound grew—wooooo, AHHH—the final outburst marking the beginning of Evil On Tap. The mix was immaculate on impact: tight low-end, crisp highs. Their minimalist setup held the weight of a full band. Every synth stab felt percussive; every bassline could fill your chest.

Between songs, the band’s banter felt unscripted, borderline domestic—like overhearing two friends tease each other mid-road trip. It’s the same chemistry that anchors Crisps, their debut album—an off-putting catalog of dry British humor with a never-ending, irresistible groove. Live, their songs unravel and rebuild themselves in real time, each one more chaotic than the last.

Ben was back to conducting us again, leading a falsetto choir of “ooooohs” into their ode to the great British delicacy, Crisps. A song so perfectly absurd it loops back to genius.

Getdown Services at Baby’s All Right by Tommy Krause

Layers of synths grew quiet as Josh stepped forward with his guitar, while Ben disappeared to side-stage. The humor of the previous tracks broke into softness as the hundreds of voices in the room sang along to the title lyric of the next track, “I Wish It Didn’t Bother Me.” Ben stood a few feet back as Josh performed the whole song stripped back, nodding his head and whispering the lyrics as he watched his bandmate with the same level of admiration as the audience.

That tenderness evaporated as quickly as it came as Josh broke his vocal melody to a deadpan announcement, “James Bay is a guy I’ve decided I have beef with for absolutely no reason—lovely guy,” initiating none other than their more popular track “James Bay’s Hat”. It's less of a diss track and more a surreal character study, poking fun at celebrity polish and fragile ego through a grin. Ben’s shirt was gone by the second verse, and so was any other sense of restraint throughout the audience and on stage.

Bass transitioned to the twinkling intro of “Eat Quiche, Sleep, Repeat”. Lines like “Eamon Holmes drones on display at the Regal” and “I bring a certain sadness to the conga line” have somehow cracked the code to make a room full of stoic New Yorkers dance for an hour straight.

Both members were now shirtless, drenched, and unstoppable as Caesar’s synths started to pulse. The bassline hummed through the floor as the crowd vibrated while awaiting the drop. When “Dog Dribble” hit, the room detonated. The crowd matched every thrash and vocal quirk, an uncommon sight at Baby’s All Right on a Thursday, where the too-cool audience usually keeps their composure.

Getdown Services at Baby’s All Right by Tommy Krause

After being manhandled by the front row and inducing whiplash upon themselves, Getdown Services swiftly exited the stage after one last guitar stab, no encore, no false goodbye. Just the disco ball spinning above an elated crowd, with familiar faces I had seen more unimpressed than not—now lit up like they’d just remembered why they even left their apartments in the first place.

Walking out, my usual idea of “cool” had been reset. Getdown Services didn’t posture or perform authenticity — they just were. Two Brits in basketball shorts, fully charged, having the time of their lives with a crowd that met them halfway. If that’s what they bring to a debut U.S. show, I can only imagine the chaos that awaits them upon their return to Bristol.