I was thinking about cats. Cats are cool. What would a cat do on a Friday night? Would a cat spend a Friday night in what appears to be in a storeroom that has been converted into a live music venue by the simple expedient of emptying it and putting in some red lights? A cat would undoubtedly not. However, we are where we are and Chris Devotion and the Expectations, Dave Hughes and the RFPB, Eastcoast Defector and a bit of Cuddly Shark are here too.
Talking of Cuddly Shark, this two up two down stripped out version of the band were on first and you know the story by now. The guy strums and sings whilst the girl provides harmonies with the benign indifference that you normally only see within the bounds of holy matrimony. Quite a sweet combination really.
Eastcoast Defector were also a duo now converted to be not only of the Glasgow but also to be of the not inconsiderable fan club of the mighty David Hasselhoff. That sense of humour was, as you might imagine, a refreshing counterpoint to their set of otherwise melancholic love ditties.
Dave Hughes and the RFPB revved their three cylinder musical engine hard and launched into a set of what might best be called celtic post punk and, despite collectively possessing the kind of unfortunate beards that would guarantee solitary confinement should they find themselves in prison, they proved to be the kind of endearingly energetic band that might actually make you want to dance.
Headliners Chris Devotion and the Expectations were playing to what was, in footballing terms, a friendly crowd but that is not to do them a disservice for it has been some time since I have heard a band that had the kind of songs that any self respecting man, woman or educated cat would willingly and without coercion sing along with. Their post punk Elvis Costello meets Squeeze adoration was obvious but, if you are going to have musical influences, then they are the ones to have. In fact, I’d even go as far as to say that Chris Devotion and the Expectations were cool for cats.