Demolition at the Hold
>> Dirty Hepburns, The Pedestrains, The Rock Hurricane & The Genics
>> 10th August 2006
My ‘old man pub’ radar combined with an irrational fear of Captain Birdseye has always prevented me from venturing into the nautically themed Admiral Bar, so it’s a pleasant surprise to find its newly spruced up basement venue The Hold to be entirely free of sticky carpets and vaguely lecherous old sea dogs.
The Admiral’s more stylish spin off regularly plays host to bands from the Glasgow music scene and beyond and tonight’s lineup of some usual, and some decidedly unusual, suspects is as good an excuse as any for exploring below decks.
First up are The Dirty Hepburns, one lass and three lads from sunny Ayr who wear their pop punk influences very much on their sleeves. No bad thing, with definite shades of Orange Juice and The Clash nestling alongside some distinctly Kings Of Leonish riffs and a smattering of Hives-like jerky energy. This is no paint by numbers copycat act though and The Hepburns (or The Dirties?!) are a band clearly comfortable in their own skin, content to give the odd nod to their musical ancestors while maintaining a polite and respectful distance. Audrey would be proud.
Regular Glasgow pub gig goers will be familiar with next band The Pedestrians, who have been touting their musical wares in and around the city in various incarnations for quite some time. (Veering slightly off topic, isn’t it asking for trouble to use the word ‘pedestrian’ in your band’s name, seeing as it’s often bandied about as an adjective to describe things that are…well…dull? Not that this band is dull. I’m just saying. It might invite cruel jibes and unfair comparisons. Like wearing one of those godawful t-shirts with ‘sexy’ written across the chest when you’ve popped out to the shop with greasy hair, egg stained joggie bottoms and the world’s biggest spot on your chin. Just a thought….)
Anyway…lovers of traditional light rock melodies in the style of The Beatles, U2, Travis etc would have found plenty to tickle their fancy here. (Speaking of fancies being tickled, the band has…ahem…’handily’ added an ‘adult oriented’ site link as one of their MySpace friends, for all those Peds fans who really should get out more. Hey, go see the band! There’ll be real live women there and everything!)
The set’s best bits sound like The Coral, the not as good bits sound like Del Amitri. But Del Amitri urnae that bad. Stand out song seems to be obvious crowd pleaser ‘All My Money’, which moves some ladies down the front to point energetically at the band in time to the lyrics. But it’s rude to point so I don’t join in.
The Rock Hurricane. I hated the name until I saw them in action, now nothing else would make sense. Maybe it was the one too many pints on a school night, but myself and my gig going companion couldn’t stop smiling. Fronted by a chap who mugged the man from Del Monte for his suit and boasting the biggest and downright jolliest lineup of the night, the comedy value is high. Nevertheless, this lot manage to steer well clear of novelty act territory with their fresh and tight punk rock pop. Straightforward comparisons are hard to draw, with hints of everything from Zeppelin and Motorhead to Bon Jovi (if Bon Jovi had a soul and were any good). The boys and girl even show off their soft underbelly on a mid set ballad with opening bars slightly reminiscent of The Shirelles ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’.
The evening’s entertainment draws to a close with the decidedly more moody Aberdeen based foursome The Genics, whose picture is probably under ‘swagger’ in the dictionary. While it would be easy to dismiss them at first sight as another Stone Roses-a-like Kasabian spin off, this lot at least have the songs to back up the style. The singer’s vocals owe more to The Doors, Depeche Mode and The Killers, giving their sweeping psychedelia a darker edge and elevating them to more than the sum of their influences. Catch them glowering at a venue near you soon.
>> APM
>> 10th August 2006
My ‘old man pub’ radar combined with an irrational fear of Captain Birdseye has always prevented me from venturing into the nautically themed Admiral Bar, so it’s a pleasant surprise to find its newly spruced up basement venue The Hold to be entirely free of sticky carpets and vaguely lecherous old sea dogs.
The Admiral’s more stylish spin off regularly plays host to bands from the Glasgow music scene and beyond and tonight’s lineup of some usual, and some decidedly unusual, suspects is as good an excuse as any for exploring below decks.
First up are The Dirty Hepburns, one lass and three lads from sunny Ayr who wear their pop punk influences very much on their sleeves. No bad thing, with definite shades of Orange Juice and The Clash nestling alongside some distinctly Kings Of Leonish riffs and a smattering of Hives-like jerky energy. This is no paint by numbers copycat act though and The Hepburns (or The Dirties?!) are a band clearly comfortable in their own skin, content to give the odd nod to their musical ancestors while maintaining a polite and respectful distance. Audrey would be proud.
Regular Glasgow pub gig goers will be familiar with next band The Pedestrians, who have been touting their musical wares in and around the city in various incarnations for quite some time. (Veering slightly off topic, isn’t it asking for trouble to use the word ‘pedestrian’ in your band’s name, seeing as it’s often bandied about as an adjective to describe things that are…well…dull? Not that this band is dull. I’m just saying. It might invite cruel jibes and unfair comparisons. Like wearing one of those godawful t-shirts with ‘sexy’ written across the chest when you’ve popped out to the shop with greasy hair, egg stained joggie bottoms and the world’s biggest spot on your chin. Just a thought….)
Anyway…lovers of traditional light rock melodies in the style of The Beatles, U2, Travis etc would have found plenty to tickle their fancy here. (Speaking of fancies being tickled, the band has…ahem…’handily’ added an ‘adult oriented’ site link as one of their MySpace friends, for all those Peds fans who really should get out more. Hey, go see the band! There’ll be real live women there and everything!)
The set’s best bits sound like The Coral, the not as good bits sound like Del Amitri. But Del Amitri urnae that bad. Stand out song seems to be obvious crowd pleaser ‘All My Money’, which moves some ladies down the front to point energetically at the band in time to the lyrics. But it’s rude to point so I don’t join in.
The Rock Hurricane. I hated the name until I saw them in action, now nothing else would make sense. Maybe it was the one too many pints on a school night, but myself and my gig going companion couldn’t stop smiling. Fronted by a chap who mugged the man from Del Monte for his suit and boasting the biggest and downright jolliest lineup of the night, the comedy value is high. Nevertheless, this lot manage to steer well clear of novelty act territory with their fresh and tight punk rock pop. Straightforward comparisons are hard to draw, with hints of everything from Zeppelin and Motorhead to Bon Jovi (if Bon Jovi had a soul and were any good). The boys and girl even show off their soft underbelly on a mid set ballad with opening bars slightly reminiscent of The Shirelles ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’.
The evening’s entertainment draws to a close with the decidedly more moody Aberdeen based foursome The Genics, whose picture is probably under ‘swagger’ in the dictionary. While it would be easy to dismiss them at first sight as another Stone Roses-a-like Kasabian spin off, this lot at least have the songs to back up the style. The singer’s vocals owe more to The Doors, Depeche Mode and The Killers, giving their sweeping psychedelia a darker edge and elevating them to more than the sum of their influences. Catch them glowering at a venue near you soon.
>> APM
