Quick Update

Seems like I’ve been neglecting this again. In all honesty, not much has been going on to write about. What with exams coming up and very few decent bands touring, my gig-ing has been somewhat restricted this year.

I’ve had the mandatory Twin Atlantic gigs of course. I can’t describe the pride I felt watching them headline the ABC (1500 capacity), the same venue where I watched them support both The Subways and Taking Back Sunday. The next night, at the much smaller King Tuts, proved to be even more special and was probably my favourite Twin gig to date. Support both nights came from Hampshire band Canterbury. These guys may look like a pop punk One Night Only, with their boyish good looks, but their music is actually seriously impressive. They put on an admirable performance both nights and are definitely worth a listen. You can download their debut album for free (!) here. Each night also had a local band playing. LightGuides completely blew me away at ABC. Describing themselves as “alternative Scot Punk with a twist of flamenco”, they could very well be the next big thing out of Scotland. They were a, slightly obvious, but brilliant choice of support for Twin. King Tuts gave us something a little more…out there to say the least. The LaFontaines combine elements of rap, rock and pop and certainly stand out from the crowd. I was fully expecting to hate them but it was quite the opposite! They were a real fun band to watch and, if his music career doesn’t take off, singer Kerr Okan could almost definitely find a job in comedy! They definitely won't appeal to everyone but they're gaining quite a few fans in and around Glasgow so they must be doing something right.

Other than that, and the two gigs I’ve already reviewed, I saw Reverend and The Makers live for the fourth time in Dunfermline. Now, that was an experience. I don’t think I’ll be venturing to Dunfermline again in a hurry! That said, the gig itself was exceptional. The addition of Andy Nicholson on bass/second guitar seems to have added a new layer to their sound. A lot of the songs just seemed a lot louder and more powerful live. Performance wise, it was the best I’ve ever seen R&TM.

There you have it, the last four months summed up in a few short paragraphs! I’ve nothing much planned for the next little while either. In fact, next up is T In The Park…in July!