Strike Nineteens / Would Be Kings / Year Zero
Glasgow Classic Grand (Friday 19th June)
A very overblown, ostentatious intro announces the arrival of Year Zero on stage, but it certainly suits the anthemic, stadium friendly style rock they produce. There is a certain ‘European’ feel about their sound, a bit like ‘In The Shadows’ by The Rasmus, but the guitar is much heavier. Singer Scott has a good, clear voice that carries well. A fair mix of influences can be heard here, from the Blondie style intro of ‘Black Day’, to ‘Malice’ which reminds me of Kasabian’s better moments. There is also the occasional nod to Velvet Revolver in the big choruses and harmonies, especially on ‘Suffer’. They finish their set with ’10,000 Lives’, which has the crowd singing and clapping along.
The Strike Nineteens are up next. A decent mix of rock sensibilities and indie whimsy. Each song is almost familiar, you can feel your foot tapping along. ‘Changes’ reminds me of Bloc Party, whereas others, especially ‘Into You’, have a ‘radio friendly’ rock feel similar to The Calling. The band gel well together, not a bum note to be heard, and lead singer David has an excellent rapport with the crowd, as well as a strong voice. They end with a cover of the
Jackson 5′s ‘I Want You Back’, which is actually very good and gets the crowd dancing.
An amusing finish to an excellent set.
Would be Kings are tonight’s headline act, and are fairly similar in ways to the previous bands. Guitar based rock, influences such as Queens of the Stone Age and Pearl Jam. They also do it rather well! They roam through the slow and sleazy sounding, such as ‘Whispers’, to the uptempo, big beefy sounding guitars on ‘Red on Red’. Singer Matt is accompanied by guitarist Bobby, who occasionally takes the lead, to produce a powerful combination of vocal styles.
‘You’ll Never Know’ gets louder and louder, slightly distorted til it ends, leaving a ringing in your ears, which is quickly drowned out by the frenetic drumming of ‘Something Changed’.
They end the night with ‘Spaces’, and leave the crowd wanting more.
Lynne McKinstray
