PARKA + BEATNIC PRESTIGE + WEEKEND PICKUPS + DEAD SEA SCROLLS - Doghouse, Dundee 07-03-08
A lot of people are curious but probably too polite to ask, as to how my live reviews come about - do I secretly make notes? am I writing reminders on my mobile fone (actually, I hadn't thought of that one, but, no, I don't), and so on. The truth is that, in the vast majority of cases, I always say that if I go to a concert and what is played is enjoyable and memorable enough for me to remember it the following day and beyond, then, I'll communicate that to others so that they can maybe catch those bands next time, if it appeals to them.
Which is why, and no disrespect to any of the bands, this could be the shortest review you'll ever see on here.
You see, at this time, I wasn't aware that I'd be spending the next three nights at Dundee's award-winning Doghouse, so I gave no thought other than to see the bands as usual. In front of what you'd call a small crowd (for The Doghouse, that is), four bands played on.
In actual fact, if it wasn't for the Weekend Pickups, there wouldn't be a review here at all. The truth is that, as first-time bands, I can't recall a darned thing about the Scrolls and Parka, so that's them out! Beatnic Prestige played a shortened set, which was hardly surprising as you'd have found more audience atmosphere on the moon! They rocked but didn't really roll, and even though they provided a strident set of songs, this wasn't the band at their best, and understandably so. Then you come to the part where I cheat, on the grounds that I knew much of the Weekend Pickups set, I like the band and I hadn't seen them for ages, which was chiefly the reason why I was here in the first place. So, as is true for all the bands that played, with absolute professionalism, they hit that stage and played on. There seemed to be several new songs in the set, and this was evidence that the band is finding its feet in terms of its style, now coming across with much more of a hard-hitting and dynamic indie sound, eschewing the more hard-rock tendencies that I'd previously witnessed. They still place emphasis on the songs, delivered in a higher register holler by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bruce McGuire, while lead guitarist Jim MacGregor lights up the set with lead breaks that positively glow and muscular riffs that beef up the songs to excellent degree. With rhythm section of James Hendry on drums abd Craig Scarfe on bass providing a solid and driving foundation to the arrangements, the band played what you'd call a forceful set of songs that I found really enjoyable as the guitar-driven sound really hammered home. It's difficult to compare this band to anyone else, but they are becoming more contemporary indie in the Fratellis/Arctic Monkeys/Muse sense than anything else, although that's not meant as a direct comparison, just an illustration of the fact that they can deliveer the goods. There's a passion in what they do, a heat to the guitar leads and they even have a couple of songs that are almost commercial, of which the cascading catchiness of "Monday Blues" is, for me, one of the best, with a rising and falling vocal, a sea of gliding guitar and chunky rhythms all making it something that really sticks in the head. The newer songs themselves are solid, but it remains to be seen how they come across in time. If you had to summarise, a case of "good band getting better" - it's definitely moving in the right direction!