It’s always worth a trip into Glasgow at Halloween time. It’s a test of your psychic ability to see if you can spot what is different from any other Saturday night. Barely a minute passes before a woman passes me wearing a shoebox on her head. No, that is not actually unusual when I think about it… however it provided some evidence that it was raining so seeking shelter soon became a better game. Finally, an excuse not to walk on by the ABC2…
The Usuals were making some noise. They’ve got a female drummer and a flash guitarist and that made them a bit different to your average Glasgow band but perhaps that’s what made them just a bit special too. Unlike so many indie rock bands on the up, up and away, The Usuals played with rhythm and riffs until they got the staccato blocks of something that could be great one day soon. A band with a future perhaps?
From Edinburgh were Until We’re Winning. It’s an unwritten rule that it will be a hard slog for any east coast band to make an impact in dear old Glasgow town but that clearly hadn’t occurred to Until We’re Winning. Like a woman with a purpose, Carrie Scrimgeour soon set about convincing the room that she was worth listening too while the rest of the band took a positively professional approach to backing her up in her efforts. And the end result? Until We’re Winning made their mark as a polished indie pop band that actually managed to get a crowd of Glasgow strangers to applaud. That’s no small feat.
Headlining tonight was No Fxd Abode. Masters of the rough and ready approach to indie rock, No Fxd Abode neatly liberated many a classic punk riff and gave them a new home in their deceptively complex songs. Chris Woods injected more emotion than you would expect of a Glasgow band into his words and, unsurprisingly, the almost absurdly sentimental “For Mum” was the highlight of their set. When it comes down to it, No Fxd Abode are in danger of being too good for Glasgow.
It was still raining outside which wasn’t much of a surprise, Neither is the fact that women dressed as cats are cute or that any guy dressed as a Baywatch lifeguard is likely to drown in a sea of his own irony, Every Saturday night is Halloween in Glasgow.