Versacoustic is the new Scottish music project sponsored by Tennants to promote the best in Scottish music, and their new lager: Tennants Versa. With free entry and a free pint of Versa upon entry (although I got 2 because my friend doesn`t like lager), it was already turning out to be a good night and I`d only just arrived.
St Judes Infirmary hit the stage first with their dark, Americana. The male vocalist sounded like Nick Cave and the main female vocalists` voice resembled PJ Harvey. On the occasion both would sing, it sounded like Cave and Harvey`s duet. Yet, it seemed St Judes Infirmary`s set never quite got past 2nd gear and although they were musically, very tight, there was no great moments.
I must confess I`ve never heard BMX Bandits but frontman Douglas`s acoustic set was very enjoyable with very poppy songs full of melody. Even if I didn`t know, it is clear Douglas is from the same scene as Teenage Fanclub and that is definitely not a bad thing.
Finally, My Latest Novel took to the stage. From the name Versacoustic, I feared the full band may not be performing and it would be completely acoustic. Fortunately, everyone appeared to be in attendance as what I believe to be the best band in Scotland proved why with a beautiful set of epic, lo-fi indie-folk, the highlight being the harmonies during Learning Lego from their brilliant debut album `Wolves`. There was little crowd interaction but luckily the music spoke for it`s self. There was certainly no time to get bored during the set and my only criticism is they didn`t play long enough. If you haven`t seen My Latest Novel live then catch them now before they start selling out larger venues.