I recently went to a gig by a band with “leg” as part of their name. I left the gig feeling uninspired and despondent as I felt I’d witnessed the result of a band being hyped to the nines on the strength of one (maybe two) songs, a band that could undoubtedly play, but felt like they had no soul. (I know Manda will disagree with me on this…)
Anyway, my final (planned) gig of 2022 was headlined by a band whose name included the word “leg”, and with a support from the mighty bis, I was in no doubt before either band played a note that this was going to be a special night, there was something in the atmosphere, an air of anticipation in the venue that was palpable. Maybe venues do make a difference, the intimate atmosphere of the Classic Grand meant that the anticipation felt by all in attendance was infectious (the aforementioned gig was in the soulless cavern at SWG3). And the people I met…some I hadn’t seen for ages, some I see regularly at gigs, some I didn’t expect to see but was delighted they were there, some who I’d met for the first time… each one to a person was evidently stoked at the prospect of seeing Lungleg live on stage in Glasgow for the first time in what feels like a lifetime.
As I took my place stage left for the first set of the night from bis, my excitement levels were almost spilling over. It’s December, so I’m going there…I was like the proverbial kid on Christmas Eve waiting on the visit of the man in red. With phasers set to stun, and their sights set firmly on party vibe, bis kicked off the nights festivities in style with a cut from their Social Dancing album, Young Alien Types. This was the start of a set that had celebration written all over it, spanning the bands illustrious career. Songs from the new album Systems Music for Home Defences sitting seamlessly between classics like Tell it to the Kids and Plastik, Stress and Lucky Night being the first offerings from the new LP. The band were on fire, not just musically, but on a self deprecating humour level too. Among other things Sci Fi Steven bemoaning his choice of a pink jumper to play a gig in a hot sweaty club venue.
It was good to hear the band paying tribute to the bands that formed part of the “scene” back in the day, from a personal perspective Pink Kross getting a mention gave me a bit of a “moment”, their original bass player Geraldine being the university flatmate of my wife. Tonight was all about a celebration of the Glasgow independent music scene, and bis played their part perfectly. This was undoubtedly a set of crowd pleasers, Kill Yr Boyfriend going down a storm, well every song went down a storm to be honest, a particular favourite being penultimate song Eurodisco, before they nearly brought the house down with inevitable set closer Kandy Pop. What a sensational start to the night.
Could Lungleg follow that? You better believe they could. What followed was nothing short of dazzling magnificence. The aura that emanated from the stage from the minute they played the first note to their final encore was hypnotic, the crowd lapping up every second under the spell of returning all conquering heroines (and hero).
Introduced by the legendary John Cavanagh, it wasn’t to be just one set though from Jane, Annie, Simone and back with the band, original drummer Jade (joined by Hando on violin/keys and ex-Franz Ferdinand drummer the unassumingly brilliant Paul Thomson for the second set), no, we were spoiled rotten by the band, elegantly bedecked in blocks of bright colours – greens, reds, blues, pinks & sparkles, with a pre-set set of tunes culled from their early EPs, opening with Punk Pop Travesty, and causing screams of sheer delight and joy with each song they played, including the sublime Edith Massey before culminating in a triumphant cover of Pussy Galore’s Cunt Tease.
Their second set was a Maid to Minx cornucopia of delights, I mean, you can’t really go wrong with that selection of songs to chose from. Lungleg may only have released one album but what an album it was! Everyone was already on a natural (or alcohol fuelled) high when they opened with Disco Biscuit and proceeded to lay waste to the audience with a set that left you with no time to catch your breath as they pummelled us with song after song of sheer exuberance, the reception from the sold out crowd was quite phenomenal. Things really rocketed to stellar proportions when they launched into Lust for Leg, swiftly followed by a jubilant and all conquering Right Now Baby, and set closer the untouchable title track of the album. At some point during those songs Hando’s shocking pink wig was sent flying into the crowd causing much delight and hilarity as it ended up on the head of a very grateful fan…
Not quite over yet. The band left the stage briefly to a clamorous racket of screams, yells and whistles and a thunderous applause, before the now regulatory gig chant of “one more tune” started up. One tune wasn’t going to be enough though, and paired with screams of enthralled elation from the crowd, the band secured their status as all conquering heroines with a celebratory encore of the dazzling brilliant salvo of (one of my personal favourites) Theme Park and a remarkable Whisky a Go Go.
We may all have waited a long time for a night like tonight but believe me was it well worth the wait. Let’s do it all again soon?
Very accurate description