Friday 8th August – The Beresford Lounge, Glasgow
There were a few negative issues that surrounded this event but I’m going to start with the positives; all the acts were amazing. Chrissy Barnacle opened the show and having only listened to her music online I was really looking forward to her live set. She has a wonderful storytelling manner and made the intimate crowd feel at ease instantly. Chrissy has an amazing guitar style, picking her way through beautiful melodic sections and adding bass and percussion parts periodically, it was quite mesmerising. Her voice is stunning! So pure and honest, she glides through her range with ease and even delighted the crowd with her lupine howl. I loved every song in her set and found it difficult to pick out a favourite but I’ve gone for ‘Sandstone’ because I love the lyrics so much,
“I’ve boiled a million kettles, to fill all of my water bottles
This wont be easy or quick, but it is what we need
I’m sweating you out of me”
I urge you all to download her FREE ‘Hazelnuts EP’ from BandCamp, which includes ‘Sandstone’ and 5 other fantastic tracks.
Chrissy Barnacle live at The Beresford Lounge
Next up were Made Of Glass, my new favourite Edinburgh based band and I was really looking forward to seeing them live for the first time – they did not disappoint. Despite the issues with sound (live music vs Glasgow City Council) and cheap in-ear headphones, their set was really cool. I loved the production of the backing sounds / vocals and although I was longing for the addition of a bass sub, I thought they played a great set. Their track ‘The Night’ was the stand out track of the night for me, however this is as yet unreleased, so instead I’ve chosen ‘Labyrinth’ for it’s pure electro/acoustic goodness.
Draped in black, Duncan’s energy is amazing, Nicky’s delivery has a distinctive celtic twang and their face-paint is intriguing. They are definitely a band to watch out for in the future.
Made Of Glass live at The Beresford Lounge
We played next and it was fantastic to have Phil back with us on guitar after so many shows away without him. Due to the sound (volume) issues, we played what should have been a fairly high-energy set with slight reservation. The venue was not really suitable for a band like us; they seem to have a lot of problems with Environmental Health (residential neighbours complain about the sound pollution on a regular basis) and already have a “no acoustic drum kits” rule in place, which we managed to get around by borrowing an electric kit for the evening from The Academy of Music & Sound. After sound checks were completed there was a “no amps” announcement, which was just not possible for either Sacre Noir or Jen Stevens & The Hiccups, so we’d arranged to turn everything down as much as possible. In complete contrast to the phenomenal bass sound we’d had at the last gig with Phil (Bannerman’s 17th July 2014), this performance was controlled but well received. The people we spoke to afterwards seemed to get where we were coming from musically and we’re positive about the front of house sound, so maybe it was lacking on stage due to the small monitor that the room had.
Sacre Noir live at The Beresford Lounge
Last up were the fantastic Jen Stevens & The Hiccups. Having travelled over two hours to get here, and on the back of my comments to them about how great the music scene is in Glasgow and what a cool place it is in general, I was really disappointed for them… this was not the introduction I’d hoped we could provide. They played for a good 40 minutes and included my favourite track ‘Middle of the Road’. Everyone in the room was blown away by their set and they have definitely left a lasting impression on those who were seeing them live for the first time.
Jen Stevens & The Hiccups live at The Beresford Lounge
I’d really hoped for a better night for their introduction to Scotland, but at one point just before the end of Jen Steven’s & The Hiccups set, a member of staff from the venue came barging into the venue space shouting “turn it down”. When the repost from a lively audience member came “turn it up”, his response was “no, turn it down, the council are in”. I was genuinely embarrassed by this episode. Apparently the DJ downstairs, who we could hear above the band already, was not causing a problem, but because our space was closer to the residents it was us that needed to turn down again. I have never been so disappointed by a venue and their ability to book appropriate events for their space or their ability to communicate in a professional manner. There are another dozen (at least) issues that plagued this even but I feel enough space has been given to the negatives and overall, despite everything, I did really enjoy all the music on the night and that’s a huge positive. Another positive is that our sound engineer for the evening, David, was great. He stayed calm throughout all the ups and downs, and managed to get a really great sound for all the acts. These two points have definitely been consistent traits of this year’s tour; we have played with some amazing acts and have met some really talented people, who we’ll definitely keep in touch with.
We managed to miss the last train home by just a second or two, but thankfully Phil was able to give us a lift home. An hour or so later, soothed by the sounds of Tool and The Prodigy we were back home in Edinburgh and ready for a little break from live gigs for a week or two. We have a couple of shows at the end of the month where we look forward to welcoming Michelle Blades to Scotland. We also have the video launch for “It’s Too Late Now” to look forward to as well as some rehearsals and interviews to complete – there really is no rest for the wicked.
NEXT SHOW
Summer Tour 2014: Gig 11 Thursday 21st August @ Box (Glasgow)
Summer Tour 2014: Gig 12 Friday 22nd August @ Elvis Shakespeare (Edinburgh)
Video Launch Night: Thursday 28th August @ Moriarty Bar (Edinburgh)
sacrenoir 