It seemed a long time in coming but Saturday’s launch gig for the vinyl version of one of 2018’s standout albums and the SAY listed Keep it Weird, Keep it Wired.
McChuills
There was a buzz of anticipation around the excellent McChuills venue on Glasgow’s High Street and an opportunity to catch up with friends old and new over a few drinks in the relaxed and friendly bar ahead of the evenings festivities as the inimitable dapper gentleman that is the one and only Nicky Stewart warmed up the crowd with some punk classics on the decks.
Talking of dapper gents, the equally debonair Alex “Mainy” Main was manning the merchandise and as grabbed a couple of words with him, I noticed a piece of ReAction merchandise that I didn’t own. I do now, a CD of early ReAction tracks from their earliest incarnation. Addition to my collection, showcasing the bands original line-up and tracks giving me the wider picture of their evolution from then, though their debut album, Accelerator, to their current classic Keep it Weird. Happy days.
DF118s and Reverse Cowgirls
Both support bands were new to me. Well, that isn’t entirely true, I had been present at an all day gig the Reverse Cowgirls played before, but, well the less said about that night the better.
Anyway, first up was the DF118s, who played their unique ska-sound to the delight of the crowd. Their closing number Tobermory had me singing along even though it was the first time I’d heard it.
I think I described The Reverse Cowgirls as my “new favourite band” immediately on their set closing. Kicking myself that I hadn’t seen them before on the numerous times I’d seen their name plastered across gigs advertised on social media, I was transfixed throughout. Hugh is an engaging frontman; the band are tight as fuck with songs and tunes that totally absorbed me. Their foot stomping, guitar screeching, bass thumping, cow-punk rockabilly, good time country garage rock ‘n’ roll had the whole crowd bouncing along. Definitely not the last time I’ll see them and probably fortunate for me they hadn’t any merchandise with them…Come payday, I’ll be on their bandcamp page…
Weekend Offenders
The relatively late stage time for ReAction meant a suitably lubricated audience and a small mosh pit formed at the front of the stage. I can’t deny being part of that…a flailing arm at one point sending my glasses flying, thanks to the vigilance of a certain singer’s partner, they weren’t smashed to pieces.
As for the band, one of the best performances I’ve seen them play. As I mentioned earlier, listening on Sunday to the demoes CD I purchased at the gig, it filled in the blanks and helped me really see the evolution of the band over the years. The demo’s are great and I didn’t think they could better Accelerator when I first heard it, and subsequently when I saw it played live. But they surprised me with Keep it Weird, hit me with a surprise twist straight out of leftfield.
Highlights
It is hard to pick the highlights of the gig, and not just because the IPA was misting my memory somewhat, but because the quality of every song on Keep it Weird, Keep it Wired is so good. On Saturday I fell in love with these songs all over again, just as I did when I first heard the album last year.
Their ode to Postcard Records in Dumb Dumb Dumb thrilled me honey. One of my personal favourites in the Sonic Youth tinged Saints of Tamla Hill, yes, it kicked to kill kill kill. The magnificent lead song from the album the autobiographical Days of Eldorado, no Cuban heels on Saturday but my creepers were worn down from bouncing around McChuills. The best “list” song ever in Valerie Solanos and Me, pity “the legend” Danny Mac wasn’t there… The list goes on. Every song played with passion, igniting zealous outbursts by the gathered throng. Carson fronted the bold and confident band cutting a dashing swathe in his MonkaRocks created ReAction shirt, the spirited performance from each and every member ensuring they sent everyone away feeling fortunate they had been there to witness it.
Welcome to Rust Town
I’ll leave my biggest superlatives for the magnificent Welcome to Rust Town. What can I say, the song is an act of pure musical genius, the planets must have been in perfect alignment when the band came up with that one. The addition of the trumpet and live backing vocals to the track from the fantastically talented Jennifer Hart is the icing on the cake adding an extra level of depth to the music and if possible, perfecting an already flawless song. Thank you, Ian, Joe, John, Scott and Jen, that one song is probably my live highlight of the year. And you probably saw my emotionally overwrought review of Goodbye Mr MacKenzie…
Brilliant venue, awesome friends, fantastic crowd, great support bands and ReAction on top of their game. Can’t get much better than that.