Glasgow gig-goers should all be familiar (and if you’re not, take note) with the early doors surprise that happens semi-regularly at the Garage. The ticket says doors 7pm… yet it’s 6.45 and Lexie Carroll is already midway through her second song.
Thankfully this gig has an enthusiastically early crowd, so she isn’t singing to an empty room. Her pretty, delicate singer songwriter stuff is anchored in relatability, like many of her peers – but Carroll sets herself apart with a bolstering backing track, bringing extra life and indie pop vibes to some tunes.
The Happy Fits, who already appear to be firm favourites here, take to the stage at 7.15, surely catching a good amount of punters off guard. But hey, there’s a club night, yada yada… we get it.
The US quartet is headlining the EU half of this tour, but on UK dates Bears In Trees are playing last. Deservedly, though, The Happy Fits get a substantial slot and play a 12-song set.
It’s immediately apparent both how talented, likeable and already well-liked this bunch are. Although the four all take turns on vocals, frontman Calvin Langman takes the lion’s share – while simultaneously dancing around the stage with a cello. Yes, a cello.
Guitarists Nicole Rosenbach and Raina Mullen are fairly new additions to the line-up, but if the internet hadn’t told me, I would never have known. Both add a cool stage presence, with the full ensemble being a treat to watch. Singing drummers are a rarity, but Luke Davis’ edgier voice is a real treat.
All four seem to ooze musical talent. You know the kind of people that probably play about 10 instruments? They’re those guys. Plus, they’re enormously fun.
Their setlist pulls from four different albums(!), with beautifully formed indie rock songs that happily dance somewhere between Vampire Weekend, The Strokes, and a host of other noughties bands. It’s boppy indie pop meets blues rock’n’roll – Ra Ra Riot, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Cold War Kids, Steel Train and Young The Giant all come to mind.
It’s really pretty unfair for any band to have to follow a set that blimmin’ good. The crowd aren’t just warmed up – they’re already bubbling over.
Of course, there is still enthusiasm left for the headliners. With their self-released debut album coming out on this very day, fans have brought party hats and are ready to celebrate.
Blasting straight into ‘Things That Look Like Mistakes’ with no warning, Bears In Trees go straight from 0 to 100. It’s a bold move, throwing away what’s probably their best song so fast. Just two and a half minutes into their set and it’s gone.
Like The Happy Fits, Bears In Trees are also reminiscent of a bunch of 00s bands – but this bunch are more early Wombats, Tellison, Dananananaykroyd, various Alcopop! Records alumni…
It’s poppy pop punk with low self esteem, boundless optimism, a soft spot for emo and an English accent. They stack different vocal hooks on top of each other, break into a dance routine during their song ‘Hot Chocolate’ and frontman Callum Litchfield does a circuit of the venue and bounces around with the audience during their finale. The fun doesn’t come as effortlessly as it did for The Happy Fits, but Bears In Trees put in the work.
Bass player Iain Gillespie is decked out in a kilt, and they all end up wearing crowd-supplied party hats. There’s a whole lot of silliness going on (in a good way), and if they can steer into that sort of multi-media creativity and imagination that goes beyond tunes – like OK Go – it could serve Bears In Trees very well.