Bluesbunny always wanted to go to Falkirk. Like that childhood ambition to be a train driver, time passed and we never got around to it. Tonight, however, Falkirk gets bunnied. Locating the Rialto bar was not difficult as precious little else seemed to be happening in the town centre. Tonight's event is a sort of battle of the bands to win a place on the stage at the "Big in Falkirk" festival. The contestants are Stutter Bunny, the Dirty Violets, the Penny Blacks and the Skinflints and all they get to prove themselves are 3 songs each.
The first band on tonight is Stutter Bunny. Having decided not to ease into the swing of things, they slap the audience about with some staccato punk riffs. Lead singer Michelle sings more like a rock star however. For a bit of variety some suitably cheesy synths get thrown in to "The Psychopath Next Door" as well. Being first on is never fun but they make the effort to impress with their hard hitting sound. They must be doing something right as they already have a stalker. A bearded face appeared at the window of the bar and leered at them throughout their three songs.
Next on are the Dirty Violets. They have come prepared with three songs of jaunty indie pop. Immediately impressive, this is a band that plays well together. Really well. "Look on Your Face" is one of those songs of summer tunes with Craig McInnes sounding remarkably poised and confident. Bluesbunny also has to note that Chris McMenamin's guitar playing exudes subtlety and smoothness. You really have to pay attention to realise just how good he is. With the variety shown in their song writing and their super tight performance, commercial success cannot be far away.
It is the turn of the Penny Blacks next. From the reception they get, Bluesbunny assumes that they must be local. Figuring out that they are a rock band was not that difficult either. The drummer even put on what looked like driving gloves before punishing his kit. You have to have the right tools. Oddly enough, if it were not for the drummer's rock star posturing, the songs would make you think they were more towards the indie side of the spectrum. Lead singer Jon makes a convincing front man and "Gunfight at the Market Cross" fairly rocked the house but the real entertainment was behind the drum kit.
Last on are the Skinflints with three songs of quality powerpop. There is plenty of style on show along with a cheeky sense of humour as "Spam Valley" demonstrates. It is safe to say that there would be no problem dancing to this band on the evidence of tonight's short set but there would also be plenty to enjoy when listening on the infernal iPod. They go a bit art house on their last song but is that not the way of musicians. Again, the guitarist, Greg, made a particularly effective contribution to this band's sound tonight.
This was some sort of competition but Bluesbunny did not stick around for the verdict as, unfortunately, bogging Guinness is not limited to certain bars in Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street. For our money, and based solely on tonight's performance, The Dirty Violets really delivered the goods. Quite liked Stutter Bunny as well though.