On how many erstwhile evenings in my student days was the phrase ‘Sauchiehall Crawl’ a little too close to the bone? Well, for the event tonight it’s less of a crawl than a dash, as I attempt to see as many of tonight’s offerings as possible. The concept is great – take three venues of varying size, quality and reputation, fill them with an eclectic mix of music, wind it up and watch it go! In actual fact I’m not convinced of the practicality of putting the bands on at the same times in different places; it results in missing acts that I’m sure would have been worth seeing, which for the ticket price of £15 may have put some people off.
However, I know exactly where I want to start, and that’s at the ABC2 for Glasgow’s How To Swim. The 11-piece are tonight a 10-piece, missing recently press-ganged member Vic on percussion, though with the volume of music they manage to create and the ensuing chaos they generate I don’t think anyone would notice. They capture the audience’s attention immediately, sweeping into a short set of firm favourites, from the destructive urges of Liquorice Kiss to the carnival insanity of Genesis P. They sound awesome, with almost every instrument clear and fighting for dominance in the maelstrom. Singer, conductor and author Ink Wilson is sharp and fiendish and the band leave a prickly stage for the slightly less energetic Broken Records to take over.
Broken Records are polished and competent, taking elements from Arcade Fire but seeming to batter out any signs of hope. They are talented and articulate, constantly swapping instruments, and, like HTS, include a variety of different instruments, from trumpet to accordion to ukulele. It makes for interesting listening, if lacking slightly, for me, the diversity of sound that HTS have brought, and certainly with less of the drama. But it is doubtless well-crafted music, and it is clear that this group of well-groomed boys work hard at shining their compositions to a sparkling finish.
I am forced to leave after four songs, escaping into the crisp air for The Beat Club to catch Chemikal’s De Rosa. A crowd is already formed, and as the band takes to the stage it is clear that they’ve been a strong pull to the event. Their demeanours convey a mixture of confidence and anxiety, and this paradoxical emotion seems to pervade the set: songs are at once immediate and assertive whilst seem to shudder on the edge of self-doubt. Reminiscent at times of Alasdair Roberts, or King Creosote, the songs take inspiration from Scottish landscapes, and echo through the evening in glorious fullness. Quite brilliant.
Back at the ABC2 I manage to catch the end of The Twilight Sad, and what I do hear certainly assures me of the place they are currently occupying on the UK music scene: songs are powerful, weighty and fighting for attention, but it’s a quick move back to The Beat Club for what, for me, will be the last band of the evening: Glasgow’s answer to Explosions in the Sky, Galchen. The power of their set is unbelievable, not simply in volume, but in the diversity, the vitality and the craft of their songs. With no vocals, guitar and bass stand on either side of drums, spread apart and completely within their own worlds. This means that focus is forced on the drummer, and after his performance it is clear why: a more vicious and irrepressible set I have never seen. He almost collapses onto the sparse kit after every song, yet instantly regenerates power to go straight into another track, murdering the drums with every strike. The soundscapes are enhanced by a visual show, colours shifting with the shifts of tone in the music, the repetitive nature creating that post-rock, almost hypnotic state – and the crowd are amazed. It’s a fitting end to an audacious endeavour, and though I would have liked to have made it to Sleazys for Jo Mango and The Phantom Band, I am sated with the diversity I have managed to consume and leave feeling rather full.