Every now and then a band comes along and just picks you up and takes you somewhere else. Away from the mundane, allowing your mind to wander and set fire to your imagination. This happened to me a few months ago whilst walking along George St in Edinburgh, the track `And You Lied To Me` shuffled its way into my headphones, I slowed my pace and instantly fell in love with what I was hearing, I am not ashamed to say my eyes were a bit damp. I hurriedly looked down to see that the band were The Besnard Lakes and the track was from a Plan B compilation cd I had recently put on my iPod. Needless to say I made my way to Cockburn St and eagerly purchased the album `The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse` it did not disappoint and when I found out they were playing their first Scottish date at Tuts, I knew I had to be there.
As the band congregate on the stage, I look around at the crowd and wonder if they know what they are about to hear, questions flirt round my head like `How did they hear about them?` `What songs have they heard?` `Will they respond well?` So protective have I become about the band, I just want it to go smoothly for them, but I needn`t worry.
When `Rides the Rails` kicks off proceedings with its heavy bassline giving way to the sort of harmonious wonder which could easily be mistaken for a bonus track from the classic Beach Boys album `Surfs Up`
With husband and wife Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas, fronting the formidable outfit there will be obvious comparisons to fellow Canadians Arcade Fire but it begins and ends there. While Win Butler et al have looked to Springsteen for influence of late, The Besnard Lakes draw from all over the place including 60`s psychedelia, Pink Floyd, Spiritualized indeed there is so much you can hear throughout the soaring, pounding prog romp that is the second song of the evening `Devastation`
`For Agent 13` starts off sounding like Brian Wilson duetting with Julee Cruise complete with Lynchian shimmering guitar before it all bursts into a glittering crescendo and my jaw is well and truly on the floor. The crowd, including most of Glasgow’s My Latest Novel, watch aghast at how good the band are as they launch into `Bedford and Grand` and then an old song which is apparently from their first album which `you cannot buy in stores,only from the warehouse of the devil!`
The next two songs put a seal on tonight as being one of the best gigs I have ever seen. `Disaster` followed by the sublime aforementioned `And you lied to me` manage to sound so epic and looking at the audience bathed in the red light emanating from the stage, it is fairly easy to imagine this on a far bigger platform. As Steve Raegeles on guitar recreates the solo to stunning effect bringing the set to a phenomenal climax, I could have gone home happy but the band return with `Because tonight` and finish things off in some style as the drummer provides vocals on a stellar cover of Fleetwood Mac`s `You Make Loving Fun.’
A truly astounding gig and one which will live long in the memory, for the lucky few who attended, it`s sure to become one of those `I was there` moments.