LIVE REVIEW: The opening act of three bands is rarely the standout performer. Tonight’s gig turned out to be the exception. THE YAWNS took another step towards becoming the quintessential Scottish indie-art-pop group. They just don’t know it yet.
Headliners DIRTY BEACHES and main support act SUPREME DICKS were less vital than the band I’d gone to see and review. We’ll come to them later and sketch out a few observations.
Q IS FOR QUINTESSENTIAL
This was the third time watching The Yawns in Glasgow and I wasn’t disappointed. Going to a gig to watch any Scottish art-pop band is akin to watching a learner tight rope walker. At some point during the set they’re going to fall off and lose the audience’s interest. As it turned out, that was a feat reserved for the bands who followed.
There’s a feeling of togetherness on stage that The Yawns share. The knowing look. The wry smile. You can tell they’re having fun and enjoy the music they create. They play music the way a more knowledgeable friend would casually recommend you something. Intelligent but never showing off. They leave all the mathematical rhythms to others.
Without fuss or drama, creating exactly what you need for a great gig experience.
During the performance the strongest impression I had was that there’s more to them than simply being another Scottish indie band. I’ve heard so many Scottish indie bands and never got this vibe before. The Yawns sound nothing like Idlewild but it’s a collective sharing of the moment on-stage that creates something bigger. Something, dare I say it, a bit special.
I know, you’re probably thinking at this point that I’m being too generous. That they can’t be that good. Well, I always think that the barometer of a band is how much you’d be prepared to pay to watch them and still go home happy. Even The Rolling Stones have discovered that this year. Whatever you pay to see The Yawns in 2013 will be worth it. Unless it’s over a tenner in which case they better play a much longer set.
There’s also the matter of their singer and frontman. If you didn’t know any better you’d think he was at rehearsal. That he can’t see the audience. He’s casual to the point where he could be thinking about what he’s going to have for tea when he gets home. He very occasionally embarks on crowd interaction in a way I can only describe as ‘anti-banter’. If it’s possible to be awkward and cool at the same time, then I do pronounce the singer awkwardly cool.
That’s a difficult sentence to write because I shouldn’t have to use the word “cool” in 2013. I mean, whenever I think of that word, I think of the bonus stage in Sonic The Hedgehog 2 from 1992 when the thumbs up image would appear accompanied by the word. I’ll work on that.
SHAMBLECORE AND EARNEST CANADIANS
Main support SUPREME DICKS apologised after a few songs for being “sloppy”. Their word. They said they’d only had one hour’s sleep as they’d had a traumatic encounter during the night. No other details were forthcoming so we were left to our own imaginations. They namechecked Orange Juice and said that they’d not played their opening song since 1985.
Considering the audience was there to hear challenging, experimental music it was a bad sign when after three songs the sound of onlookers talking to each other became louder than the band. Rude yes but that’s hipsters for you. I reckon in their day Supreme Dicks would have sounded intriguing on a bill with the likes of Gerils from Dundee. Tonight unfortunately sounded terrible. In saying that, I wouldn’t be averse to hearing them live again if they were ready and up for it. Not in a ladrock way you understand.
I’m going to say very little about DIRTY BEACHES because I was so disappointed. On Spotify and Bandcamp there’s more than enough examples of abstract art as well as proof of a tune. Tonight I got neither. Except for the opener, it all sounded like bad techno without a sense of humour. Best thing to do is pretend that this live performance did not happen and instead enjoy the music in its recorded state.
If I saw Boards of Canada live and they were this different to their records I would not be a happy camper.
Instead of ending on a downer, I’ll leave you with this video by The Yawns. This song closed their set. Enjoy.
