This has to be one of the most eccentric, individual and enjoyable performances I've ever seen. Accompanied by his invented instruments, he sings in to an instrument named 'The Hornicator'. Tapping out live rhythm loops, plucking assorted strings, springs and attached noisemakers, he builds a backdrop of sound layers as an accompaniment to his songs and stories about the moon, butterflies, dogs and a host of beautiful and sad things.
I'll certainly be on the look out for another appearance from him in the North East. A quick note about the venue, The Prohibition Bar, which is under one of the arches near The Sage, it's got a full programme of gigs and events, if it's not hired out for a private function you would do well to check it out for it's retro, prohibition era stylings.
Starting off with Sinistro ariving on stage to a ripple of applause they launched in to their first song. Which was simply a mess, I wonder if bands do sound checks anymore! If you're going to have a vocalist, write her some lyrics and have her front your band, you should at the very least make sure she's heard. Tonight all we got was a drone from the guitars and a thumping bass. Soon enough the sound engineer appeared, stood in front of us with his iPad and began to alter the mix. Pretty soon the vocals were at max, but he was reluctant to change the bass or drum settings and effectively rendered the performance a bit of a pointless exercise. Which was a pity because on the rare quiet moments the singer had a voice reminiscent of Lisa Gerrard and she was throwing some Siouxsie Sue shapes, all flailing arms and poses!
Next up were Alcest, the band who I had really come along to see for my third time. The stage dimmed and they launched in to opening track Onyx off their latest album Kodama (well worth a listen by the way). Loud and distinct sounding this was a near faultless performance, lots of material from the new album but a couple of old favourites thrown in for good measure. As I've said before, like all the best gigs it was over far to soon.
Closing tonight would be Mono from Japan, a band I've only recently listened to curtesy of YouTube. On they came and sat at their instruments, only the bassist being visible from where we stood. So not really a great deal of activity to see on stage! Once again the sound quality dipped and midway through the third song, Rory and I decided to leave.
Now it's not often you get the chance to embarrass your kids, so when opportunities come along you really must take them! On the way out, coming up the stairs towards us was Niege, the man behind Alcest. So I thought I'd comment on how much I enjoyed the performance remarking that this was the third time I'd seen Alcest and I felt the sound was stronger and better with each gig. Greeted by a big smile from Niege and a thank you, I returned the thanks and made my departure. Rory on the other hand was almost mortified - "why did you speak to him?" Because it's nice to be complimented I said, he went on to admit he would have just walked past him, somewhat embarrassed.
The video isn't from Glasgow but this song features in the setlist and is becoming my favourite track from Kodama.
