Ratboys Downstairs At The Dome

Ratboys

Salarymen

Downstairs At The Dome, 5 September 2026 

I was back to see my favourite discoveries this year, the incredible Ratboys, at the downstairs venue in the Dome (singer Julia Steiner was very taken with the idea that there was an actual Dome at the top of the building!), which I had never been to before. It was just as joyful and energetic as before but this time they played one of my favourite songs of theirs, Burn It Down, so I really couldn't have asked for more!

I had a bit of a stressful journey to Tufnell Park due to problems with the trains and only turned up just as the doors were opening but, whether it was due to the End Of The Road festival happening at the same time or the fact it was a Saturday night, I was only the third person in line. 

When I went in the place was empty for a long time but thankfully was packed by the time Ratboys came on, although for a long time I wondered if I was going to be the only person at the front! While the place was empty though I bought a copy of Ratboys' previous album The Window from Julia Steiner herself, who was very friendly, so that was nice. 

I could see support band Salarymen walking around beforehand, setting up a camera to film their performance, and they seemed super excited to be playing.  Made up of the London-based Aussie duo Renee de la Motte and Thomas Eagleton, they certainly looked the part: de la Motte, on bass, was wearing a matching shorts and jacket set with leather boots that looked very rock n' roll (she also looked a bit like a young Ann Wilson from Heart), while the tall and shaggy haired Eagleton, on guitar, had white jeans and a ringer tee that made him look like he could have been in a 90s indie band (he at times reminded me of a dark-haired Evan Dando).

They had a drummer and a second guitarist (playing his first show with them tonight) completing the band but it was clear that the duo were the stars of the show, alternating the lead vocals on songs and often looking to each other and smiling, or even facing each other as they played guitar. The music was slightly poppy indie rock like The Sundays or The Primitives, while they also reminded me of bands like Split Enz and Crowded House, especially when Eagleton sang.

They were a pleasant enough listen and they were clearly thrilled at the good reaction they were getting, which was nice. There was a song dedicated to their late dog Chili, I Forget About Time, which of course endeared me to them but I think the best song though came at the end, a bass driven number called Holding On sang by de la Motte, with a catchy chorus and lots of harmonies. It was a good way to end the set for sure. I'm not sure Salarymen are unique enough to make a big splash but who knows, they may have that big song up their sleeves that will turn things around for them. We'll see anyway.

Finally it was time for Ratboys to take to the stage and thankfully by this time the place had completely packed out and I could see people wearing Ratboys t-shirts and even one chap next to me had travelled all the way from Germany to see them, so the love and excitement was definitely there.

Steiner had now taken off the big black sweatshirt she was wearing while selling merch and was now in a t-shirt with a cat drawing on the front and brown cords, while guitarist Dave Sagan was wearing shorts, a shirt and a baseball cap, making him look a little like a cool mailman! Bassist Sean Neumann wore a Chicago Cubs shirt and I could just see drummer Marcus Nuccio wearing a stripey tee and a cap behind his set. They all looked relaxed and cool and were clearly in a good mood.

They started off with three absolute bangers from the new album, Singin' To An Empty Chair: Open Up, Anywhere and, one of my favourites, Penny In The Lake, which was loose and rootsy and sounded so good. It was clear they were in top form and also having a lot of fun. The crowd responded and there were people around me singing and dancing, there was so much good feeling.

The middle section was mainly made up of older tracks including the fantastic title track of their 2023 album The Window (which I had just purchased from Julia!) and  the bright and hopeful sounding I Go Out At Night. Steiner then told us they wanted to give us some tracks that they didn't play at the Garage show back in May so were going right back to their 2017 album GN (they did in fact completely miss this record at that show). 

The first she said was Molly, which was written about her sister and was rowdy and sweet, ending with Steiner emotionally singing "I just want to love my family, hold my shelter and lie in the symmetry, I just want to hold you, Molly." It was so heartfelt and lovely. 

The second, Elvis Is In The Freezer she told her was about her much-missed and long gone cat, Elvis, and she said how could she not play it when she was wearing her cat t-shirt, holding up the ends of the tee so we could all see! She dedicated it to her old pet and also to Chili, the Salarymen's dog they had also dedicated a song to, so there were lots of pet dedications tonight, which I'm all for (although hopefully more ones who are still living next time!).

Despite the jokey name, Elvis Is In The Freezer, was also super sweet and tender, had a lovely rousing  indie/country feel, building to a gloriously noisy finale. What a treat to hear it live!

It was back to the latest album then with the fast and crazy, psychedelic punky feel of Light Night Mountains All That, the beautifully breezy and melodic The World, So Madly and the absolutely epic, Just Want You To Know The Truth, which starts out like a sad and tender ballad and slowly builds to an amazing and cathartic guitar blow-out at the end, with Steiner and Sagan facing each other as Sagan soloed away. Both times I've seen them play this live it has blown me away, I hope it always stays in their set!

The song What's Right, with its driving Tom Petty-esque riff, got such a massive response from the audience, there were even two dudes next to me driven to grabbing each other and dancing and jumping up and down together. It is a absolute bop and it sounded so good tonight. It's just crazy how many fantastic songs are on the new record really, as all sound like singles and future classics. I love the bit at the end when Steiner plays a different, darker sounding riff as Sagan plays a solo and the drums go into a marching beat: it always gives me chills.

But the best moment of the night came next when they played the song I had been longing to hear live: Burn It Down. I admit I asked them a couple of times on social media if they would play it tonight but had no idea if they had seen my requests. I also overheard other people saying they hoped they would play it, so it wasn't just me (at the end I heard others noting they have played it so I really do think it's a favourite). 

Steiner prefaced it by telling us that they had started writing it way back in 2020, following the protests that came after George Floyd's death and her anger towards the system that resulted in his murder. She also told us that she was completely anti-right wing, anti-racism, pro-Palestine etc and defiantly said "fuck ICE", which of course drew cheers. It's always good to hear the music you like comes from good people.

I've been so longing to hear it live and it lived up to all expectations, beginning like a slightly intense but smouldering country-tinged tune and slowly building into something more sinister and angry-sounding, the tension coming out in a big guitar finale, like a big fire burning, before slowly down again and fading out in the most beautiful way. It was epic and moving and I am so glad I finally got to witness it live, it was glorious.

The band did go offstage and return for an encore, though Steiner laughed that they were doing the rock n' roll thing of pretending to go off.  They ended the show with happier sounds, although I confess I don't know the name of the song, leaving us on a more hopeful and joyful note (although Black Earth, WI was on the setlist they didn't play it). 

This really was a wonderful show and Ratboys really are a wonderful band. I think pretty much everyone there left with a smile on their face. As I walked out Steiner was back behind the merch desk but this time there was a crowd of people waiting to be served, which is how it should be. Ratboys deserve to finally have their moment in the sun.