Descending the stairs into the red lit basement of Sleazy's in Glasgow, the first thing that I saw was a man in a golden mask prancing on the stage. The rest of the band were doing a very respectable job of powering out eighties white boy funk but that oddball rap (and we are talking Wham and not Grandmaster Flash here) of half thought out deconstruction will either infuriate you or blow your mind. The Mickey 9's are a band that has jumped off the train between stations.
Also taking a retro approach were the next band, 2Storeys. They gave a polished performance of what would have been called jazz funk - tell me about the good old days, grandpa - in the good old days. You certainly can't argue with the musicianship on show but they were an incongruous choice for a second act. Perhaps they would have been better suited to a chill out session later in the evening.
On to Ciro. A stalwart example of the resurgence of melodic rock music in this part of the world, Ciro showed a maturity and style that bodes well for their future. Lead singer Sarah Brown - though we're on first name terms now - went from showing all the breathless, giggling nervousness of a schoolgirl between songs to becoming a temptress during them. The rest of the band showed the surefootedness of mountain goats and gave a rousing performance. Looking at the big picture, a band needs a good front person and Ciro have that.
The headliners were visitors from California called Fol Chen. Quirky just about covers them. They've got that feel for a song that, much like Apples in Stereo, allows them to pretty much ignore convention and spin their little soap operas round and round for our amusement. Perhaps not to everyone's taste, they nonetheless managed the task of delivering what were actually complex songs in a manner that made it all look so easy. Dragged back by the audience for an encore (with an "it had better be f***ing good" chaser for this is Glasgow), Fol Chen rose to the challenge. You can't argue with that.
Feed me. Feed me now.