Standing, with beer in hand on a sunny summer evening (an almost complete novelty in Scotland) on the opening night of this year’s T in the Park, waiting for the up and coming Glasgow band Twin Atlantic I was struck by the sense of expectation that was emanating from the crowd.
Live bands on the Friday night have only been part of the T experience for four years, but there always seems to be the sensation that 85,000 people have been let off the leash and the one-year wait is over, and T and all its accompanying madness has started.
After a couple of years hard touring, big things are expected from Twin Atlantic and the band played to their biggest crowd to date on the NME stage with many of the public having followed the band since their beginnings.
After a slight delay, the band finally emerged and the grin on singer Sam McTrusty’s face when he saw the sea of bodies in front of him, beamed in appreciation. Opening with ‘Edit Me’, the first track on the excellent ‘Free’ album, the band ripped through their set with further tracks from their current album, as well as older song ‘Lightspeed, all greeted with a frenzied response. Final song ‘Time For You To Stand Up’ had everyone singing along and the noise was still ringing in the bands ears as they exited the stage. The band seemed to feed off the crowd’s energy and gave everything into their 30 minute set and it was great to see a band so obviously passionate about their music.
Singer Sam (pictured) later told me that the gig was one of their proudest moments so far as a band. The self-confessed history geek also revealed that a visit to Stirling Castle the week before has helped him relax and take his mind off the band’s recent busy schedule. For a band that have often been described as “Biffy lite”, I was impressed by their expansive sound, on stage confidence and the fact they are a band who really look like they are enjoying the moment.
Expect more big things in the future from Twin Atlantic.