THE FLOOR + THE DEFENDED + THE RAMBLERS + THE MEXICOLAS - Doghouse, Dundee 08-03-08
When I'm really having a great time at a concert, there often comes a point at which I think to myself "this one's got to be reviewed", so then, during the next interval, I stand in my customary corner (wondering how many people see me so often and think I'm some kind of sad, lonely, well-meaning hermit!!) and think of some kind of slant on which to base a review. Then, ever so occasionally, this thought will pop into your head and you think "oh yehhhhhhhhhh - THAT'S the one!!" - and this is it...........
If you were to compare the 4 acts on tonight to modes of transport, The Floor were the rocket ship. That they toook off in a wondrously loud and explosive manner was matched only by the joy of witnessing this super-fuelled quartet take off and soar into the skies, this burning heat of flammability pouring out in their wake. If you thought that their set when they won the heat of the Y-Rock" Battle Of The Bands" was hot, this set tonight was positively nuclear. The way the band deliver these songs that see this immense wall of guitars, scythe, riff and glow, is nothing short of mindblowing. That there is structure to it and that it also comes out sounding like a heavy rock version of Glenn Branca's guitar orchestra, is simply amazing. The songs are songs but the arrangements are tight and the performance just incendiary. It's more of an experience than a traditional set of songs, made even better by the fact that the two guitarists rage around that stage, guitars cutting through the air like they were killing a million angry wasps. The rhythm section is rock solid, the bass work pummelling and pounding over the driving drumming to perfection. Yet, through all this, there's an indie band at the core, songs that do exist in the midst of the furnace-like heat, and it's this awesome way they put all this together and make something that, on paper, shouldn't work in a zillion years, sound so fresh and exciting, is nothing short of jaw-dropping. Lord knows where this will take them and who's gonna love it, but for now, get aboard the ride of a lifetime - you may not see its like in Dundee again!!
The Defended were the top of the range, ultra-expensive million dollar sports car! The sort of thing that, viewed from the outside, promises something great, but when you turn it on, power it up and let it go, you just know you're in the presence of greatness. For a totally supercharged set, they started with their incredibly crowd-pleasing opener, "Man On A Hill", with its addictive chorus, racing rhythms and strident guitars, the sort of song that can't fail to hook you in to where they're at, right from the start, as you prepare for one heck of a trip. With chugging guitars, soaring vocals, stirring harmonies and a hook that could snare a whale, this track sets the scene for what's to come, to perfection. From there it was a heady drive across tracks that had anthemic status written all over them, with a sense of dynamics that were a positive rollercoaster as you went up and down on a wave of well sung vocals, ringing guitars, flying rhythms, tasty beats and uplifting harmonies and choruses through to an end point of the irresistibility of journey's end that is "Weekenders" with its verses-as-chorus way of arranging that makes it absolutely catchy as heck from start to finish, and even though it twists and turns as it travels, it still manages to spiral continually upwards to make the listener leap about with abandon and sing along with delight, as strong and stirring a closer as "Man" was an opener, and the set as a whole is a winner. You simply can't fail to have a great time when you witness this band in concert - grab a slice of it now and enjoy that top-of-the-range ride!
Although you wouldn't quite guess from the myspace site tracks, Glasgow's The Ramblers were the hot rod. They delivered a stirring set of songs with a pace that was positively jaw-dropping as song after song went by in this mix of flame and volume where the guitars burned holes in your head and the songs hit you with all the force of a charging machine. The vocals were actually sung really well when you might expect the guy to be struggling over such an intensely fast set, a feat that allowed the commercial aspects of the songs to come across well, so that you ended up with this slice of chunky, driving indie-punk that really wasn't any of those categories at all. That they dropped in the odd moment of a more dynamic nature, aided and abetted by the football-terrace anthem qualities of the wickedly addictive "You Posh Girls", their obvious single if any track is, was a mark that this band had thought and heart at the centre of its arrangements, a smile on its face and a wicked set of almost Levellers-esque punk rock in an indie disguise. Excellent stuff!!
The Mexicolas were the juggernaut, the long-distance lorry - big, solid, dependable, unstoppable and seriously heavy. Which is also fitting since they'd travelled from their Birmingham homeland to do this gig (at least it was the opener of a short Scottish tour). A trio, they played this powerful brew of songs that really were songs, the amount of space reserved for showing their purely instrumental prowesses, limited to short sections per song. As a kind of Midlands answer to American cross-genre rock trio Kings X, they played an exciting and hypnotic set, where the whole was greater than the parts, as the band played as a tightly knit unit, and the vocalist delivered the songs with clarity, force and confidence. Because it was a song-based set, and because the songs are, on first hearing, alot to take in, you did feel that the juggernaut was passing by before you had a chance to check its contents, but still able to marvel at its strength and structure. A sort of hybrid of rock, stoner, indie commerciality and metal, the trio played a blinder. In a sense you got the feeling that they were aware of how god the audience had been to them in taking in this set for the first time when, for the last thing they did, they droped the songs and unleashed this explosive blues-rock instrumental with searing heat lead guitar and thunderous rhythm section, which the crowd absolutely loved and apreciated. It was a stunning set and I only hope I'm lucky enough to get a copy of the album to review (hint, hint!!).
All in all, one tremendous night of bands and a testament to both the bands who played and the wonderful Doghouse for being bold enough to book them!!