My first show of 2024 has a couple of my favourites from 2023 revisiting us from across the pond.
Spanish Love Songs had me flabbergasted that they weren’t co-headlining with main act Hot Mulligan, and tonight’s support Heart Attack Man had The Cathouse spinning in a show so small it’ll never be repeated. Tonight we have both bands and we’re here to see if this show becomes greater than the sum of its parts.
There’s an unexpected opener tonight and as I type this mid set… I’m not sure of their name. (SUDS, it turns out). From the accent of the bass player who does most of the talking between songs, I’d guess they’re from the other side of the border. They’re bringing poppy mid western inspired tunes with a element of Americana about it. There’s the odd occasion where I can pick riffs from other songs… the spirit of American Football makes an appearance and there’s one track where I could sing the lyrics to ‘Hey Ya’ by Outkast perfectly. Nothing wrong with that though, it’s a head bopper. There’s quite a bit of Pixies in there too.
I immediately wanted to comment on the off-key vocals, but then I asked myself if I’d be saying the same if the band were fronted by a guy. I wouldn’t. This genre thrives on off key – and some outright out of tune – singing and there’s an unfair expectation for girl singers to be pitch perfect. Remember that and you suddenly appreciate this band a million times more. They were selling home made candles at the merch desk too… so that’s cool! I had a quick Google when they mentioned the name of their album (‘The Great Undergrowth’) and I’m pretty sure they’re called Suds. I was into them, as was a rapidly filling room. Definitely worth a check out if you’re into new mid western emo.
The thing that impressed me most about Heart Attack Man when we first covered them in a half empty (or half full depending on your outlook on life) Cathouse was the concentrated anger and vitriol. It’s new wave pop punk and/or emo core. but it’s not whiny. It’s absolutely raging. A couple of songs into the set has me concerned that the support status of this show had reduced the set list to the point of losing some of the more aggressive songs.
I could see why they would go down that road in order to not put off the Spanish Love Songs crowd that might have never heard of them before, but the bangers came out later on. It’s clear we have a lot of Heart Attack Man fans in tonight. From note one there’s singing along and plenty of the front lines are moving like it’s the last act of the night. Finishing on ‘Freak of Nature’ is a great choice being the big hit (so far) and although these guys will soon be holding their own as headliners in venues this size… they’ve done their job in making the crowd toasty warm for our main act.
My first show of 2024 has a couple of my favourites from 2023 revisiting us from across the pond. Spanish Love Songs had me flabbergasted that they weren’t co-headlining with main act Hot Mulligan, and tonight’s support Heart Attack Man had The Cathouse spinning in a show so small it’ll never be repeated. Tonight we have both bands and we’re here to see if this show becomes greater than the sum of its parts.
I feel we should all tip our hats to the bands who still set their own gear up on stage. I understand how this might ruin the flow of the review but there’s something refreshing and grass roots about seeing the people you came here to watch fiddle about with a pedalboard, step off stage, then walk back on as if nothing happened.
Walking back on stage was accompanied by the Proclaimers ‘500 Miles’ which is a nice – albeit obvious – way to win over a Scottish audience. It also exposes the Scottish audience as not being sure at what point the “doo doo doos” come in as they sing along.
Immediately, there’s something missing from the stage and that something is bass player Trevor Dietrich. Trevor was one of my favourite parts of the show last time I saw these guys as his stage presence made up for other members being chained to mic stands and keyboards. I did hear other gig-goers mention he’s stepped back from the band which made me sad but if true (I had a Google and couldn’t find anything), I wish him well. The lack of Dietrich stage presence must have pushed the other members to be more animated on stage as Dylan Slocum darts around the stage between verses.
Spanish Love Songs immediately prove one thing as soon as they start… They are now in the business of anthems. Where the recordings have an air of lonely desperation, when played live to such a big crowd, the singing along turns them into something bigger. That’ll always take away a little bit of how special a band are, but it’s inevitable when a band connects to this many people in such a deep way. The absence of Dietrich on bass doesn’t take away from the performance at all as the instruments are as raw and live sounding as ever.
The jewel in this particular crown will always be Dylan Slocum’s vocals, however. This voice will undoubtedly be considered one of the quintessential of the genre as it’s raw and sincere yet sits perfectly in the key of each song. If I had to nitpick, the lighting director saw it fit to backlight the band for most the show which meant we couldn’t see a thing. When I go to see a band – I want to SEE the band.
The majority of the set comes from new album ‘No Joy’ and where new songs are often a downer at shows, it’s not the case here. This crowd have obviously been studying and the tracks are sung back with the energy of a classic album that’s been out for years. The first time I saw this band, there was a fantastic excitement in the air and tonight it was replicated. Tonight Spanish Love Songs have proven they can be the headliners that they should have been a long time ago.
crai