Considering the credentials of London band Athlete it is perhaps surprising that they find themselves playing to the rather modest sized venue of Fat Sams in Dundee, having greatly achieved a coveted Mercury Music Prize nomination for debut Vehicles and Animals, knocking up and number one album in the form of second effort ‘Tourist’ along with the Ivor Novello Award wining single ‘Wires’.
The reason for such a low key tour then is perhaps due to the lack of commercial success of third LP ‘Beyond The Neighbourhood’; undeterred by this the band put on a polished and confident performance to the packed Dundee crowd.

As the venue begins to fill the waiting fans are treated to the husky tones of singer/song writer Iain Archer. Part comedian. Part heartbroken artist. His six track set went down well with keen, young revelers, his light humour was engaging and a hit with the fans, challenging them to be the first crowd of the tour to clap him all the way through his only up tempo number (not quite rising to the challenge, but nonetheless, a good effort from the youngsters among them).

Next up was Eastbourne five piece Gold Teeth - not entirely original; however, their energetic blend of indie pop transferred well to the live stage and their presence was felt all around the room due to heavy base and drums. It was closing track ‘Mirage’ which got the most applause, and deservedly so, the climatic finish to their set showed that these boys could well be filling bigger venues themselves in the not to distant future.

Then came the headline act Athlete and with the average age of the audience steadily increasing they showed they have a wide appeal, indie enough to satisfy the youths and credible artists in the eyes and ears of the more experienced. Opening track was a showcase of new material from album ‘Black Swan’ and showed us that they are dabbling with some electro sounds but managing to retain that distinctive Athlete sound. ‘You Got The Style’ is the first opportunity for the fans to sing back the lyrics to front man Joel Pott who was clearly enjoying the response from the packed crowd. In this intimate setting tracks such as ‘Half Light’, ‘Hurricane’ and ‘Twenty Four Hours’ really blew the audience away and would not have sounded out of place in an arena-sized venue. The more subdued acoustic performance of ‘Grandpa’s Symphony’ was a welcome departure from the epics which surrounded it, bringing out Pott’s vulnerable side and making a genuine connection with his audience when they chorused back the line “you carry me home” long after the song had finished.

An impromptu and unexpected dance break broke out after ‘One Million’ and seen the guys let loose and jump around the stage really having fun, Joel even attempting a short-lived robot move before coyly abandoning the idea. The true highlight of the evening came with the last of the three track encore in the form of the band’s award wining single ‘Wires’ - members of the crowd had been pleading for the song throughout the set but none could deny it was worth the wait - the pitch-perfect sound quality was felt all around the room with Pott’s uniquely endearing voice filled with emotion.
The band seemed genuinely grateful of the fans appreciation telling them “it was a privilege to come to this town” - it was too a privilege to have them here and by the quality displayed by the band you get the feeling they shouldn’t be playing venues this small for much longer, and fine they know it.

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