On a miserable February day for weather the prospect of a sold-out three band bill at The Rumshack was something to look forward to. BM has previously commented on the merits of this southside venue and it did not disappoint in terms of atmosphere and the quality of the sound system, ably overseen by Stevie.
First up were relative newcomers VCO, who had supported Bis the previous night in Edinburgh (there were jokes from the headliners later about the “exhausting two date tour”). A six-piece combo led by Josh (guitar/vocals) with two keyboardists, drummer, bass and second guitar, they played a short but intriguing set, starting with ‘Look Alive’, which showcased Josh’s strong baritone and the band’s overall playing abilities.
Further tracks such as ‘Small Skulls’ harked back to ’80s sounds (Tubeway Army maybe..?) while new track ‘Utopia/Eurphoria’ showed there’s a lot of substance there as well as a cool style (Josh’s all-leather and slightly bouffant look reminds BM of a certain Jim Reid…). They finished with ‘Halfway House’ which some onlookers compared to Bowie although BM didn’t quite see it herself – anyway, certainly ones to watch and with some tracks already online worth checking out…
Next we had Slime City, of whom Bis are long-term fans, so no surprise that Michael and his men got this support slot. Playing in advance of their debut album launch (in May at St Lukes, with the whole Last Night From Glasgow record label machine behind them!) they played a few new ones and some old favourites, Michael fairly leaping about the place with his lighty-up guitar while the drums and bass pounded away, all three of them in the regulation ‘Slime City Death Squad’ branded clothing, a bit like Devo if they had come from the Strathclyde Regional Council area.
The new album material sounded promising (‘The Mona Lisa Isn’t Very Good…’ contained more of the biting sarcasm that Slime City are known for, well that and mental geekrock riffs), the shoe was deployed as is traditional (bought from some online retailer, just the one was supplied allegedly) and the closing run through ‘Dial Up Internet…’ and ‘Less Jools’ fairly got the audience animated.
‘Transphobia Killed The Internet…’ was the latest lyrical mutation of the former track while they made a bit of an arse of ‘Jools’ and had to restart it halfway through, in some ways making the whole performance more endearing that it was really intended to be. There will always be a lot of love for bands who don’t take themselves too seriously… and SC are a prime example, gawd bless ’em…
The place was rammed by the time Bis came on, the audience sweaty and excited with anticipation. What we got was probably the most intense and convincing Bis performance BM has witnessed, a lengthy 17 track set which did not lose focus and gave the audience exactly what they wanted.
The familiar setup of Stephen and John on guitars, Amanda on keyboards and everyone on vocals at various points has not been stretched or augmented in recent years, so when they launched straight into relative oldie ‘Young Alien Types’ it was business as usual. Tracks from the relatively recent album ‘Systems For Home Defence’ such as ‘Lucky Night’ rubbed shoulders with oldies like ‘Fake ID’.
Stephen did quite a lot of the between song chat, referencing the trip to Edinburgh the previous night and the fact that touring was a young man’s game etc. Amanda warned the dancers at the front they’d have sore thighs in the morning and took the lead on a couple of edgier new tracks ‘Lucky Night’ (referencing mansplaining and being patronised…) and ‘You’re Drunk’ (which kind of speaks for itself…) while the classic ‘Kandy Pop’ got the usual fierce reaction from the crowd and really hasn’t aged at all – there is still something fresh and totally eccentric about it…
The last few tracks ‘Today of All Days’ and ‘Monstarr’ (both oldies, Stephen claiming ‘everyone hates’ the latter ‘but we still like it’) tonight sound more like New Order than Bis while ‘Eurodisco’s infectious electronica sends the audience over the edge (wild dancing ensues…) – after that BM did not expect an encore, but they came back for one brief version of ‘Technopop’ (surely, yes?) before collapsing in a metaphorical heap, their work this weekend done.
Still the new transistor heroes…
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