Truly an event of wonder this one, a band forever on the edge of greatness excelling themselves beyond even the high expectations tonight…
Having reviewed a couple of gigs at GOO last year (the mighty Mogwai and the indescribable King Creosote) Betty will skip the quips about the venue, it’s a one-off, hysterically funny place, and here are TTS, putting the boot in, to country music (four letter sea with three stars expletive deleted this time).
London based support band Let’s Wrestle are very interesting, quirky, dropped by their previous label for “pissing people off” (quote by their bass player outside having a smoke after their slot), last album produced by Albini, so where did it all go wrong? According to said bassist, they don’t even know TTS and got an email out of the blue asking them to support TTS on the entire UK 2012 tour, so there you go…
At times a wee bit out of tune, frequently funny, quite often groovy and really quite original, there’s a touch of the Pastels or something there. Singer slags bassist off on stage for drinking wine, drummer looks like moustachioed loon and singer could end up looking like Meatloaf, give him a few years – hopefully they will get the “career” back on track re: record deals but in the meantime they are a diverting and refreshing support – so often support bands are wannabee clones of the main act so this was good.
After much queueing for cheap beer (and sniggering at the ancient staff, the formidable female bar queue uberfurher was at least 80 and barked orders at various trendier-than-thou scenesters to “stand there, get off my bar, stand over there son” etc to bemused looks. TTS started a bit before 9 (as the ancient digital clock above the exit sign informed us). Major scenester alert, several guys with waxed ‘taches, WTF, Betty thinks a real man, like a real woman, should be clean shaven …
Usual music suspects here as well – Aidan and Malcolm, some Rabbits, other well-kent faces…
Sound was perfect, loud enough to punish the ears but no unintended distortion.
Material majored on new album No One Can Ever Know reviewed very ably by someone else (Betty did not have the time), out this week and a sonic departure – keeping it interesting, add more synth sounds and simpler song structures, a few leanings towards Interpol, the Mode, Ladytron and of course Joy Division… again, not bad company.
Setlist also included a brace from Forget the Night Ahead and a few highlights from the first. No encore, which brings me to a couple of observations;
– people at their gigs don’t overreact or emote or jump up and down, mainly I think because they are SHIT SCARED of James, his malevolent but evolved ned persona is truly intimidating
– James is developing into one of the most mesmerising frontmen in the business, shades of a young Jim Kerr (before he got cheesy) but far darker, although his breeks keep on working their way down during every song – it’s an unlikely gimmick but it might just work…
– but serious respect to the other musicians, can’t be easy to fit in after an unexpected departure by a key member – Weatherall said the record was fine, and “anti-produced” it, not sure quite what but a badge of honour that he did not want to change it.
The whole experience was unbelievably intense, Betty cannot describe the music very well tonight but would simply refer people to their records or YouTube footage, it speaks for itself.
James’ accent tonight was nearer Stirling than Glasgow, reminding Betty of, oh never mind, he was quite a big man anyway – the fact that the songs inhabit an odd environment beside the burn or over the hill, you get the feeling there is a high bodycount but they are all killed offstage, somewhere else entirely…
This was something else… the tour now goes over the border – good luck to them, they deserve it.