The Showcase
featured six acts, each one of them bringing something incredible to the table.
Out of almost 200 entries we managed to whittle it down to six, and last night
at Stereo they all came together for an amazing show. Tonight at 7pm we will
announce who goes on to open the show for Jiezuberband and Preacher at the o2
abc1 on April 27th.
I was
exceptionally busy last night with the whole organising malarkey (stressed out
my box is another way to put it) so I brought Sam along to write the review. So
instead of me prattling on (I done enough of that last night with the whole ‘public
speaking’ thing, I’ll just hand over to him.
First of all came Jay Ingram, I think musicians
and civilians alike would agree there is nothing this man’s voice cannot do, he
began his set strongly and performed what was my favourite track of the night;
Ms Daisy which he wrote about his car and announced that in actual fact his
car, was trashed. That’s beside the point though as he wrote it when his car
wasn’t in the wreck and in actual fact expressed through his voice, tone,
lyrics and melody how such a minute thing to some people may provoke the most
magnificent track. I wish Jay had a full band however as the combination of
vocals, acoustic guitar and Macbook PC sounded far too polished. Still,
however, I do hope to see this promising young artist in the future and I’m in no
doubt that he has a very promising career in doing what he enjoys the most.
Second on the hot-spot came The Detours. The
band itself was spectacular and the performance they produced was magnificent
although there are a couple points in which I would like to express about them.
First off the harmonies, they continued throughout the whole set and as much as
I enjoy the power of combined vocals I felt that sometimes they could have made
a much bigger impact if they played the spaces rather than fitting it all into
one big mash up. What they played was precise, on the ball and without a doubt
very powerful. The energy of this band was the best I’ve seen all night and the
guitar solos found a fitting end within all their songs.
Suspire made my night if nothing else, they
reminded me of Fleetwood Mac, if they had turned up the distortion once in a
while, a very promising band with a very promising future ahead of them. If I
could pick one flaw then it would be that they need more stage presence as a
whole. The one thing that did catch my
attention was the distortion on the bass when they were setting up and that
immediately set my eyes on what they were up to, they had an amazing start and
a very nice change in the first song from what appeared to be soft rock,
quickly changed into soft/hard rock and epic roll! There was one stand out
thing that caught my attention and that was the drummer whose sheer enthusiasm
shone through the crowd like a light.
Next up was Dee who seemed very much like Suspire
in the respect that they need more stage presence, the music; phenomenal, the
structure; brilliant, and the band; couldn't be tighter. It was obvious to me
by this point that every band who comes here were obviously aiming for the top.
And if they couldn't get the top then they would shoot down anyone who opposes
them, of course I mean that in the most non-literal way possible. From what I
could tell from Dee , they knew what they were
doing and should feel very proud for everything they did! An exceptional talent
who has big things coming in the future if there’s any justice in the world.
Then Sonic Templars hit the stage, at first
thought they were very aggressive in their approach and definitely wanted to be
known. As their set-list progressed it was obvious that they knew what they
were aiming for and as a final punch ended in a way that was unmatched all night.
They had it. And I mean they had whatever it is that attracts a crowd and gets
the riled up, they could be described as powerful, but I would say that they
should be described as professional. That however could be said for every band on
the bill.
The last band that played was called Jesus Trip
who was introduced by Martin with extreme etiquette (a gentle ‘Fuck You’ to the
crowd). Their best song of the night was called “Believer” which I can quite
happily say, blew my mind! There are many things I could say about Jesus Trip
but I should keep it short and sweet, they are awesome, they are original,
although people would argue their style isn't I would argue their style is
just the first thing you pick up on about this band. After listening to their
set, I can say that they sure do know (or at least I hope they know) that their
style is unmatched in the sense that no one could copy this band, no one could
pull of what they did tonight and as a whole, I’m glad that I was able to come
see them.
The whole night turned out as a success and the
last thing I can say about it all was that Stereo in Glasgow
Martin – I would
just like to say that my ‘Fuck You’ was called for. It was a great night,
amazing bands on the bill. Putting six acts on was a gamble, but one that I
hope paid off. Everyone who was there seemed to enjoy it. The artists were
phenomenal to work with and chat to, all professionals and hard workers, all extremely
talented and more importantly all entertaining. 7pm tonight we will make the
announcement on the UUC Management website and then the Facebook, and believe
me it’s such a hard decision to make. Tell you what though, I think I’m going
to have more nights like that, and if I can I might just get the same acts
along to do another blinder of a show! Right now however I’m away to make an
egg in a cup, a cup of coffee and chill the feck out before I start getting
hounded by people to do stuff.
Big thanks to
Dee, The Detours, Suspire, Jay Ingram, Jesus Trip and the Sonic Templars for
playing, to Alistair Mulhearn for bringing his photographic machinery along, to
Stevey Murray for being left on the door to collect tickets all night and having
to endure some Jiezuberband Madness (people attaching themselves to coat hangers
and hanging themselves up) to Stereo, To Preacher and Jiezuberband and you know
what, thanks to everyone! Next stop…………….o2 abc1
great gig and great bands whoever wins deserves it
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