In recent times there has been an explosion of interest in roots music in Scotland. Various promoters have enjoyed considerable success by bringing such acts as the Packway Handle Band and Peter Case to Scottish shores. The trend looks to have continued as the Agnostic Gospel Mountain Choir kicked up a mighty racket at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut.
Le Reno Amps are on first, and they know how to enjoy themselves onstage. Their alt-country sound on record comes off with greater intensity live and it's hard not to enjoy such accessible rockers as "Wound Up". The quartet ran through a 30 minute set jam-packed with clever riffs and the energy of an onrushing parade of bulls. This group, based in Glasgow, have already supported the likes of Hugh Cornwell, and on the evidence of this showing, it's not hard to see why.
Few will have encountered a band like Dumb Instrument before. Front man Tom Murray may resemble your best friend's drunken uncle, but his witty delivery and wordplay on such songs as "What If Cliff" and the hilarious "Suffering from Scottishness" clearly impressed those in attendance. The keyboard and bass that accompanied were minimal and never stood out but existed as backing to Murray's warbling. This band will need to do more musically in order to progress but I don't think there was anyone in the crowd who didn't enjoy Dumb Instrument's 30 minutes of bampoetry.
There may have been a shroud of mystery concerning the Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir ending their show on "John the Revelator", but there was little else to question in this boisterous performance from the Calgary quartet. Many tracks from their new album, "10,000 Years", were on offer as well as older material from "Fighting and Onions" such as "Oh Sorrow". The Waits-meets-Beefheart roar of front man Judd Palmer shook the foundations of the building as the rest of the band helped create a wonderfully fearsome bluegrass stomp. Mountain musicians in Canada must wear Doc Martens.
The hour-long set was as much a nod to modern rock music as it was an emulation of traditional bluesmen and porch musicians. As the crowd reaction indicated, the Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir are a credit to modern day roots musicians, who don't just emulate, but also look to innovate.