It's good that there's a returning Doghouse in Dundee - it's a new place in a new location with two floors, an upper balcony area with its own bar, plenty of space and just a neat layout which they will slowly make their own. Downstairs, a square stage with entrance at the back, bar to one side and seating area the other. Mitch and Audio Wave are back with a great PA and the sound overall, was fine. So began our season at the new Doghouse.......
Dave? were on first and they were on fine form. The different part about tonight's set was that they played it - for Dave?, that is - quite sedately for the first half of the set, although sedate for Dave? is still pretty much a mix of intensity, dynamics and firing off at tangents. The trio on guitar, bass and drums play songs that really hit home as the yearning, nasallly vocals from Daniel soar over the shards of guitar splinters and stirring riffing, while the bass acts as the roaring undercurrent while the drums go places that most drummers of indie bands wouldn't even dare, the mixture of strength and space in the drumming, holding your attention like very few around. Rudi and Craig excaimed that they sounded like The Kooks - but The Kooks don't have Daniel's invention and compositional sense of adventure, aggression and arrangement; The Kooks don't have Mike's bass glue that binds it all together and The Kooks certainly don't have the dynamic, tasty and powerful drumming that is Scotty's riveting performance - they also don't have songs and vocals as good as this. The slower epic that is "This Is Not A Love Song" was performed in truncated version, turning a mantra that goes into a maelstrom and back, into a more condensed slice of mesmerising slow-motion indie rock, while previous songs had promised to build and explode but managed to stay on the more restrained side of the fence. But the second half of the set brought with it "What's His Excuse" complete with its rousing, memorable chorus and more down to earth verses, while "That Spark" did just that and erupted into this fast-paced indie fury as the shards of guitar caught fire and the rhythm section drove to the edge and back, while Daniel's gloriously lazy whine of a vocal morphed into the take-off chorus to maximum effect. In all, a more varied set in terms of pace and dynamics than we've been used to witnessing of late, but no less consistent and still bearing all the hallmarks of a unique band ready to rise.
Oddly enough, The Trade played things a bit differently too. The overall word that sums up their performance tonight is "intence" - this was indie rock to bore holes in titanium plate. The whole band just roared throughout the set, the two guitarists creating this morass of riffing and soloing while tehm section veritably hammered out the beats and Ross on lead vocals was just on fire as the songs just got sharper, tighter and denser as the set wore on. One of their most commercial songs is "The Dealer" with a hook that really hangs around, this time came early on in the set - it's usually saved to the end - while even the more recent song that is "24" substituted the normal dynamics for a thunder that, apart from the first couple of minutes, was an explosion of intensity as the song erupts from the verse into this almost anthem-like middle instrumental section with Ross hammering a lone drum as the band whip up an indie storm that would suit admirably as the background to a film about Scottish wars through the centuries, before reverting back to the song for its finale, and even this was one jaw-dropping sea of intensity. The band unveiled a couple of new numbers, the first of which was extremely fiery and the second of which was actually a really strong song and easily the better of the two, up there with some of the best Trade tracks to date. But, overall, I was left with the feeling that, on the evidence of this performance, the band can most certainly play one storming set and blaze trails that leave you in awe of what they deliver, but somewhere along the way, for those who actually don't know the songs beforehand, it is the songs themselves that sometimes get a bit lost in the headlong rush to explode. You take a number such as 24" (or is it "20"?) - it should start sedate, build, drop back a bit, then build up to the fury of the instrumental mid-section rather than just blaze right into the middle of the fire right away, build to a peak and then drop down dramatically for the finale - something I have seen them do before and something I hope to see them do again. This is one stunning band and if they just tone things down just slightly, live in concert, could be the stuff of greatness.
Luva Anna are in a class of their own - in every way. That they feature two contrasting lead vocalists, in every way, both of whom can write, sing and perform great songs in very individual ways, thet they feature a guy who spends the majority of the time playing an electric mandolin-y type thing and occasionally reverts to electric bass, plus a drummer who propels, pins and drives it all together, is wondrous enough. But that they also have a selection of songs of which every one is a gem, is something else entirely. Starting with the multi-part harmony of their sea shanty intro, the band go into a set that, mostly, has you irresistibly singing, swaying, bouncing and dancing like a dervish, according to track. Tonight we got the short and disarmingly memorable ditty that is "Wooden Shoe", the rousing chorus and verses of "Sober", and the gloriously wasted "Coma Girl" with its slow, almost operatic vocal intro leading into the cataclysmic stomper of the main body of the song with Dave Webster's howl of a vocal belting the wickedly humorous lyrics out to great effect. In between, they gave us two brand new songs - the first, called "Postcards", was more of a ballad, albeit a ballad with a strongly emotive lead vocal from Drew and a chorus of multi-part singing from the band, on a track that is incredibly evocative and wistful, yet at the same time highly engaging yet still carrying the flavour and drive that is Luva Anna. The second one, of which the title now escapes me, was more immediate in terms of its instant catchiness, introing with the mandolin, an instrument that, in this band's hands, really gives them even more of a distinctive and unique sound, and leading to this incredibly addictive mix of rhythm and flowing lead and harmony vocals that immediately carriwes you along with another Luva Anna gem. Of course, we got the finale of "Angry Fat Bouncer", tonight extended a great deal as Webster made the most of the new Doghouse layout by climbing up to the top of the wall behind the stage and looking like he was about to leap off from about twenty feet up, much to the concerned face of manager Jonathan. Instead, and all this to the accompaniment of a rateine extended drum solo, he waved at the audience, climbed the rails, leapt over the balcony and came back down to the stage via the spiral staircase - showmanship and then some!!! In all, one of the finest Luva Anna sets I've seen to date and surely it can't be long before this unique band catches the attention of an unsuspecting world.