Teenage Fanclub are legends wherever they go, and obviously no more so than their hometown, so it’s only fair that they treat this one-off support slot as a fun half hour separate from any expectations or album promotion.
There’s nothing from beyond 2000 and more than one extended section where Raymond McGinley can flex his guitar muscles and shows he can still shred with the best of the them. But otherwise it’s the usual sunny harmonies and catchy melodies, though the closing ‘Everything Flows’ feels a little anti-climactic after a rip-roaring rendition of ‘The Concept’.
The Hydro is usually a big, intimidating space, but tonight sees the arena in its smallest set-up, with the stage pushed way forward and only a handful of seated sections open. It’s clearly the result of poor ticket sales, but this flexibility allows the venue to cultivate a bit of atmosphere and once the jaunty notes of ‘Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa’ arrive there’s a closeness of performer and audience that’s sometimes missing when the place is full. The band take it all in their stride, though, boldly attempting an early bit of crowd participation on ‘One (Blake’s Got A New Face)’ to mixed result.
Following this the huge sheet bearing the band’s name falls to reveal the full ensemble hidden behind the core trio. ‘Ice Cream Piano’ sets the scene of their brilliant new album, Only God Was Above Us, but ‘Classical’ is the one that shows how the band have managed to develop their intricate arrangements to match a mature, straightforward lyricism. That and it features a dancing roadie playing the sax. This second mini-section also features bona-fide classics like ‘Step’ and ‘Unbelievers’, closing with the party-starting ‘This Life’, showing that wherever the band pluck their songs from there’s an amazing consistency of style and quality.
‘Sympathy’ leads off a darker, murkier suite that includes the weirdest moment of the set when ‘New Dorp. New York’ feints towards hard techno as its runtime is more than doubled. Ezra Koenig is in upbeat, chatty form, often introducing the new songs with some quip or anecdote, and noting that it’s shockingly been 11 years since they were last in Glasgow (when they apparently weren’t that good at playing ‘Worship You’ – there’s no issues tonight).
‘Gen-X Cops’ shows itself to be the sneaky MVP of the new album, the band bringing its crescendoing intensity to life without sacrificing any of the clarity of its reflective social commentary. ‘Diane Young’, ‘Cousins’ and ‘A-Punk’ demonstrate little more than the ability to play very, very fast without descending into meaningless gloop (plus a little live pitchshifting), but they’re a hell of fun ride. ‘Harmony Hall’ should really be the main set closer with its snappy breakbeats and looping, Screamadelica-indebted piano chords, but the band instead opt for the languid repetition of ‘Hope’, allowing each member to exit one by one.
And that, according to Ezra Koenig upon his return, is that. We’re just shy of two hours and the show’s over. Though, the band are back onstage, so clearly it’s not. What to do now? 25 minutes of random covers based on crowd suggestions? Why not. So that’s how we move from casually belting out ‘Hey Jude’ and ‘Hungry Heart’ to lesser-known hits like ‘Casey Jones’ and Yo La Tengo’s ‘Sugarcube’, the latter clearly more for the band. They’ve obviously played ‘Chop Suey!’ before, while ‘It’s Oh So Quiet’ they definitely have not. Shania Twain’s ‘You’re Still The One’ is maybe the pick of the bunch, though ‘505’ could have run it close if the band had committed to the tempo change. Eventually we close as we began, with a pair of cuts from their 2008 debut; ‘Campus’ and a recklessly brilliant ‘Walcott.’
Vampire Weekend’s latest album shows that the band is at the top of their game in the studio and tonight’s performance matches that quality on stage just as well.
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