First impressions count for a lot in music, and even tonight`s openers` name holds promise. As does the lineup, a trio who may be too young to actually drink here, and – get this – a female drummer equipped with a solitary tom-tom and snare. Standing up. Standy-uppy drummers almost guarantee greatness, but Dirty Summer are no Low, in fact if there`s an opposite to Low`s light gentle melodies this is it. The Mary Chain`s Gillespie circa Bobby Gilespie might be closer to the mark, but that`s may be a disservice as there`s more to them than rehashing `Upside Down`. Noise levels are kept, largely, to the max, even when said drummer come to the front to read some random lines from Just Do It they`re inaudible among the squalls of noise as her 2 cohorts, respectively, grind out dirty distorted bass, and trigger samples and screeching keyboard. To be fair though, there`s more to them than just a racket – their second tune is a minute-long pop-punk classic, albeit mired in an electrical storm, but their penultimate number stops and starts, running for several minutes (an epic in their book), and when not rumbling along at a threateningly glacial pace, suddenly bursts into a happy hardcore rhythm which would have scared the bejaysus out of Alex Empire.
Satellite Dub, despite all that`s gone before him, makes for a clean, compouterised processed sound. He`s been spotted in the past with guitar, with vocals, but even now he thanks the audience at the end basically by shouting at them, unmic`ed. Before that it`s a 30-minute procession through a one-man barrage of beats. Basically a computerised set with Craig Satellite triggering and manipulating samples, the beats are relentless, from `London Has More LIghts` via `Trying To Stop a Tank With Your Hands` whose title tells you everything you need to know. To lump in names like the Chemikal Brothers or Prodigy is a handy reference, but does the man a disservice, unless prefaced by `better than`. There`s dancing at the end, and the closing `Magnolia Lane` makes for a massive finale. It may be early April, but spring has sprung, and Scotland`s live scene is hotting up.