Not long after the doors open Clt Drp (Clit Drip) unassumingly take to the stage and urges the few people in the room to come forward.
They could pass on first sight as a typical indie band but that impression doesn’t last long as the deep reverb comes through and the electro-punk takes over. You can feel the bass in your stomach as Annie (lead singer) sings about gender and body image issues: “Maybe I don’t wanna go to the gym” gets a standout reception.
Despite the early start, the room fills with a curious and enthusiastic audience, and by the end, the stage is well set. “Did we win you over? I think we did” shouts Annie, and I would agree.
Next up is Hyphen, their quite ominous introduction was in contrast to the charismatic rapper that took to the stage. Almost all of the songs were overtly political, “I was just confused about how anyone could hate my mum,” he explained in between singing about ‘Marching Powder’ and ‘Hate Thy Neighbour’.
It was a very apt preview into a Bob Vylan set with a lot of similarities both in terms of topics and the rap/rock sound, although a few of Hyphen’s songs cross the line from punky into straight-up dancefloor banger much more in line with artists like Example who previously blurred similar lines.
With the crowd suitably warmed up Bob Vylan takes to the stage starting as always with stretching and meditation. Bob Vylan have done well in Glasgow being one of the standout acts of TRNSMT in 2023 along with their showing in The Garage in December last year.
They have since released ‘Humble As The Sun’, their third studio album to critical acclaim, and kicked off with its first track ‘Reign’. The live show has many of the same elements as their recorded music, moments of relaxation, and words of affirmation in between letting the anger flow out. It doesn’t take long before Bobby is crowd surfing so smoothly it looks like water. SWG3 is not always the rowdiest venue in Glasgow but Bob Vylan still manages to maintain a mosh pit for most of the night.
Ending the night with ‘Hunger Games’, with no place for encores here, the band picks a Palestine flag up from the audience to hold together while flexing their muscles. It is a moment that sums them quite well, they are never going to be a band that shies away from standing up for what they believe in, and they are always going to put on an amazing show while they do it.
Photos by Dale Harvey
- Bob Vylan / Hyphen / Clt Drp - 9 November 2024
- Sleater Kinney / Gina Birch - 3 September 2024
- Honeyblood / No Windows / Vampire Voltage - 6 June 2024