It's my first run at the whole writing music reviews thing and I find myself in a gloomy underground basement. No, not the lower levels of Bluesbunny's secret lair but in Glasgow's Nice and Sleazy. I've been tasked to write a music review and the bands that have been selected for me are Salon Society, The Viragoes and last, but by no means least, Aames.
A notepad was thrust in to my hands as I waited for the music to begin. The bill started off with Salon Society who performed such numbers as "Don't Die Inside" and "Faith and Sexuality". They are an art rock band that consists of Roxanne - she looks slightly like Katy Perry but has a vocal style that resembles Alanis Morissette - on vocals, Dorothee the guitarist, Luci on drums and Roy the bassist. The emotion shown by Roxanne while singing is something which I think all musicians should show with her arms flailing as she dances around the stage like a pagan priestess at some sort of ritual. Thankfully there was no chicken blood involved. Dorothee, on the other hand, proved to be a solid guitarist and a surprisingly good drummer - she swaps roles with Luci midway through their set and then back again - and I thought her guitar sound was a nice mix of twangy strumming and distortion. When you put it all together, it made for one eventful set.
Next up were The Viragoes, a band that hails from Clydebank. Although their set suffered from initial sound problems, they nonetheless got off to a flyer. They are a very talented band with the right mix of strong slightly rasping vocals and quality musicianship all round. The guitar is melodic yet assertive, the bass deep yet driving and everything about this band works. They are a spirited bunch with plenty of technical ability between them and they treat us too some very good songs such as "Child of the Times". The riff for that one sounds as if the Dandy Warhols & Supergrass had a baby and then that baby picked up the guitar. Next they play "Escape from Glasgatraz" a pacey, rhythmic number that incorporated shrieking harmonica with excellent vocals. One song that was a particular joy to behold was "Madame Nicotine". This song showcased the true skill of the band with guitarist and violinist Kevin producing a commanding performance on the latter instrument playing it as if he was chipping away at a tree, as if he was mad at the instrument. This was my favourite and I think the girl behind me must have agreed as she was dancing as if she was at Woodstock.
And finally were Aames, the headliners and a decent band, although doing the type of music that I don't usually listen too. Vocally, I would liken them to The Script or Snow Patrol although instrumentally the sound was distorted and everyone with a guitar seemed to be soloing so much so the vocals were drowned out. I don't think this was so much the band's fault but that of the sound man. Their set was blighted by sound problems but when those problems were finally rectified Aames shaped up to be a pretty good band. A soft rock band at that! Some of their songs, such as "Notes on a Piano", are slow but progressive and another one of their songs "Trees" was a slight ballad (of sorts). Softer than the other tracks it puts a harmonica to good use during the chorus. Most of their songs incorporate spirited vocals with some distorted guitar with very Glasvegas like riffs and Queen style solos. They perform 8 songs and one encore but the encore was just a repeat of their first song "I Am". All in all they were a good band.
The real treat of the night, however, was The Viragoes who are sure to make it onto bigger and better things.