Friday night, well, late afternoon in Glasgow’s SWG3, and it was a lovely evening… this gig was supposed to be in the outdoor arena, but a couple of days before, the promoters moved it to the Galvanisers Yard due to “weather.” For weather read poor ticket sales. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve seen ticket price reduce to £10 then freebies on offer… and that is no slight on the bands I was there to see. I hadn’t bought tickets originally as I couldn’t go all night, and no offence to Kyle Falconer but I’m not sure he was ever a big enough draw to fill the venue… I heard rumours of 300 tickets sold in total…
Anyway, not my concern as I was there bright and early for the two opening acts. And when I say early, I mean early enough that I thought I was in the wrong venue as I was literally the only person at the barrier…
As Fog Bandits took to the stage at the early hour of 6.15, a quick look around saw some of the well kent faces and dedicated usual suspects had arrived in time for the openers. The early stage time did not faze the band, as they threw everything into their epic performance. I know I go on about loving gigs in small venues but I have to say that tonight Fog Bandits, and also Alcatraz who followed them, both proved their worth and demonstrated in bucketloads why we should soon see them both filling venues of this size on a regular basis. Both bands have such a gargantuan sound that they were more than a match for this room, and I think it says a lot about the dedication and reputation of both bands that they were asked to join this bill despite, as Jamie mentioned from the stage, perhaps being a mismatch based on the night’s headliners.
Anyway, as I said Jamie and Co. in Fog Bandits just focussed on the task in hand, filling their half hour slot with their immense hard core/nu-metal/punk influenced anthemic rock. Jamie is a natural frontman, pacing every inch of the stage as he delivered his vocals in his own inimitable style. Bolstered with some grittily intense programming to go along with the ear bleeding intensity of the crunching riffs, hard and heavy bass and pummelling beats. Their set took in songs from across their releases including their latest high octane single Try Me and an impressive new song Rouge. Having played their set with an energy that belied the early slot, their all too short set closed with the incendiary Get a Match, and I’m sure they gained some new fans from anyone there to see Kyle who’d turned up early out of curiosity.
Another band who would have been guaranteed to gain new fans from any curious early comers was Ginger Quiff favourites Alcatraz. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen this band now, but they just keep getting better and better. Their music has evolved and progressed over the last couple of years with their now settled 6 piece line up. While I loved the band from the off – I remember saying to someone the first time I saw them that I thought they had something about them and that they would be going places – they have really found their groove and their own expansive hard n heavy stoner/desert rock sound and boy is that sound colossal.
Another thing they have really found is their stage personality and presence, especially Ellie who I remember as being slightly shy and retiring the first time I saw them. Not so now… when they were interviewed before the Tut’s Summer Nights she admitted to pre gig nerves but you’d never know it, as she exudes an air of confidence on stage, assertive without ever appearing arrogant as she prowls the stage with a captivating sultriness, her performance matching the mood of the songs flawlessly. But in saying this, I can’t ignore the rest of the band, Liv is surely one of the best bass players in the DIY scene in Scotland, she never gives less than 100% in her assured playing style. Aaron plays guitar with a cocksure stylish swagger, with his partner in crime Robbie giving it large while Dec looks like coolness personified behind his synths and Peter owns the thunderous beat on his drum stool.
Kicking off in style with one of their boisterous set standards, Seventh Heaven, they set their yardstick high, before the crunching, face melting energy of their single You Make Me Bleed. What came next was an incredible new song, Casino, which cemented my impression that this band has so much more to give…Their latest single Messiah was an ebulliently rowdy triumph, and was the link between them and Fog Bandits earlier, with their vocalist Jamie appearing on the single cover and the bands latest t shirt… Their closing brace of songs raised the stakes even further with the bristling intense menacing moodiness of I Hear Voices before, if this even possible, they reached even higher levels of menacing volatility with Nowhere Man reaching a viciously fiery crescendo. I feel breathless just writing this…
No matter how much you paid for that gig, you certainly got your moneys worth for these first two bands alone. Two epic performances from two bands on top of their game for whom, if there’s any justice in the world, huge things beckon.
Footnote:
Fog Bandits and Alcatraz both appear on the New Sound of Scotland CD contributing Vile and You Make Me Bleed respectively. The CD includes 30 tracks from just some of the many brilliant Scottish bands in the burgeoning DIY scene right now…with an 8/10 review for the CD in this months Vive le Rock magazine.
The CDs cost a mere £12 including postage. Preset yours by sending the money to paypal.me/NeilHodge9 Profits will be shared between SAMH and Tiny Changes.
