For many, The Needles have been Aberdeen’s biggest success story musically, since, well Geneva. So that may not be saying a lot, but The Needles, as many would agree are a fantastic band. Well, now lead vocalist Dave Dixon has a new band – The Hidden Masters – and to this reviewer, on only their second gig, they are the best new band in Scotland. 
There isn’t anything original about The Hidden Masters, with their brand of US influenced garage-psych pop gems but complete with Hammond organ and hand-claps, they play this style so authentically and convincingly that it’s like being transported right back to 1966. The upstairs theatre stage contributes to this feeling yet it is the fact that it is only the Hidden Masters’ second performance that is really impressive with a set of almost perfect garage numbers that hints towards the likes of The Seeds and The Electric Prunes, and with their harmonies, even The Monkees. The Hidden Masters don’t imitate these bands rather than carry on this tradition and introduce it to a whole new audience. A fantastic new band.
Considering the hype that has surrounded The Black Lips and their outrageous stage antics, it is surprising both how small the crowd is (and no-one under 18 it seems) and how almost ordinary they are. This is, by no means a criticism of the band because, really, who, especially with the mature audience here tonight, wants to see a band urinating on each other? Yet even without any real chaos these ironically proclaimed flower punks appear in their checked shirts and southern moustaches to be one of the filthiest, hard rocking bands out there. Unfortunately, on this occasion they are let down by sound problems with much of the vocals lost in the muddy mix. Still, this style of music is meant to be raw and this does not take away from the fact that The Black Lips are surely one of America’s finest imports this year. The music is stripped down rock ‘n’ roll, somewhere between MC5 and Beatles circa 1964 while the lead guitar does it’s own wild and wonderful thing. Unlike tonight’s openers, The Black Lips are not trying to capture the retro feel of the sixties, instead modernising the sound, adding their own twist with elements of post-punk and hardcore. It’s reassuring to see, in a world where so many want to re-create the 80s, there is bands who play real raw, trashy, rock ‘n’ roll.
more photos from the Black Lips on Flickr – images by Andy Thorn