Dark Places – a mini festival from The Filthy Tongues

The inaugural, I say that in hope rather than having any specific knowledge of this being an annual occurrence, Dark Places festival was to my ears, a roaring success, a glorious celebration of music across a variety of genres, and from new bands to the more established (I was going to say young and old, but let’s say young at heart…)

Martha May and the Mondays

The job of opening the festival was handed to Martha May and the Mondays, a new band for me, part of the virtue of a festival like this, the opportunity to discover music new to you.. And what an impressive start to the night. Opening and closing with songs brimming with brio and raw furiously impassioned energy, the rest of the set indicated inspiration from the likes of The Velvet Underground/Jesus and Mary Chain, from the mellow guitar tone and the inclusion of violin I was expecting a cover of The Black Angel’s Death Song at any point. What we did get thought was a cover of The Birthday Party by the 1975, a band who I freely admit to dismissing for, in my mind, a lack of memorable tunes, however, there version of the song was spot on (I have no idea what the original is like!). They are now marked in my head as “ones to watch”, I’d go and see them again in a second.

The Head Henchmen

A quick jaunt across the lane from Stereo to The Old Hairdressers and it was the turn of another band new to me, The Head Henchmen and their full throttle surf rock guitars. Full throttle that was until the drum bass pedal broke, eating into the bands short set time, and subjecting us all to cheesey cheese themed jokes as their enthusiastic frontman filled time. When they did get started again, they played some top notch surf guitar tunes, from what I could gather this was a makeshift line up so kudos to all. Unfortunately, due to the drum issues and the tight schedule the band were unable to finish their set, however, their energetic closer, and new single Sasquatch, encouraged me to investigate further.

Nanobots

Back over to Stereo and it was the turn of Nanobots, who were already in full flow when we got back into the venue. Jim and Shona were probably the most hard working duo of the night, not only performing but working the sound desk, changing guitar strings for Martin, and generally run ragged. This was the first time I’d managed to catch the band live, and what a treat it was, the humorous delivery of their space/science influenced punk/electro pop meant their half hour flew by, a fact which I’m sure would have been a relief to the pair dressed as they were, in the heat of the venue they must have been cooked to perfection… Unfortunately, we missed Kilgour, still having half a pint left at the end of Nanobots set. While I’d loved to have seen all the bands, and the set up of the event was managed to the nth degree, ensuring bands started and finished on time, there was no breathing space, no chance to catch your breath between bands, or catch up with friends and acquaintances. I’d love to see this festival a regular fixture in the gig calendar, extended to a full day. This isn’t a criticism as the management of the event went like clockwork, merely a personal reflection.

Scorpio Leisure

There was some time to say hello to folks between The Filthy Tongues and Scorpio Leisure, perhaps I was too keen to get across the lane, bursting in on the band as they were finishing their sound check and seeing Coco in a whole new light… Having been blown away when I first saw the band play in The Rum Shack, I was delighted when they were added to the bill, countering the disappointment of Run Into the Night and Casual Worker having to pull out. It was a slightly different set up than I had previously seen the band, with no Ricky Maymie, Mungo was taking on guitar duties on his tod, and Russell was on electronic drums this time. None of that lessened the impact of this highly innovative band, satisfyingly difficult to pigeonhole. Their sound? A delightfully complex mix, soulfully delivered post punk, rhythmic and highly danceable, with everything in the mix from sweeping discombobulating psychedelia to throbbing reggae imbued bass lines and all topped off by Hettie’s captivating presence and bewitching vocal. Songs like Running on the Spot, Feral Life. Driving and Give Me Back My Space screaming out for a massive following. Get along to see them if you can. 

The Filthy Tongues

Prior to that it was the turn of curators and headliners The Filthy Tongues to own the Stereo stage, and own it they did. The Goodbye Mr MacKenzie trio of Martin, Fin and Kelly joined by band mates Alex and Asim were on top form as they played their darkly powerful tales of the wretched and hopeless, digging into the seedy underbelly of Auld Reekie and beyond and the colourful characters that go with it. The Filthy Tongues is a vehicle for the trio to run with themes that perhaps are too dark even for Goodbye Mr MacKenzie and explore them, musically creating a sense of menace and intimidation taking the listener on a journey with them, immersed in a wall of sound that matched the breathless ferocity of the heat in the venue. The set list was culled from across their phenomenal trilogy of albums Jacob’s Ladder, Back to hell, and the latest, from which the festival name came from, In These Dark Places, the title track of which opened the thrilling set.

Going full circle, the set was bookended with closer, the title track of the first album, Jacob’s Ladder. The entire set was played with an impassioned urgency, all five band members performing with a fire in their bellies and despite the darkness of the song themes, the music positively glimmered with a shining iridescence. For me the outstanding highlight was It’s Gonna Wash, which was played with such a fierce intensity, the venue felt like a pressure cooker that was going to blow at any second. Sheer brilliance.

A huge congratulations, and thanks, to everyone involved in making Dark Place such an engaging night’s entertainment. despite the relatively early start and volume of band’s the night rushed by in a flash, I hope this event is repeated and becomes an annual fixture, from everyone I spoke to, the desire is there.