Photo Credit: Sinead Ferguson Photography |
At the time of year when people are mostly occupied with all things festive, it is encouraging that some focus, inspiration and valuable time is dedicated to pulling
together a really good music event.
Hosted
by PCL Presents, today’s event (22nd Dec) impresses with its line-up. It is a smooth-running
music event comprising the likes of the Vanities, Crystal, Walt Disco, Voodoos,
Lucia, Neon Waltz, Rascalton, the Blinders and headliners Baby Strange.
There
is never any reason to doubt the selection of bands to begin with but as the
day progresses, all talent and strengths are displayed in full.
Known
for their raw, dramatic and highly-charged live sets, the Blinders have spent
most of 2018 touring and playing gigs, and the intensity of exposure that gives is reflected in the strength of their performance. The release of
their debut album Columbia in September continues to increase the band’s appeal.
But
as the crowd is about to experience Baby Strange’s set really does deliver, and
although 2018 has not seen the Glasgow band play live as much as the Manchester
based trio, their experience and knowledge shines through and comes in
handy.
Photo Credit: Sinead Ferguson Photography |
Kicking
off the set with Pure Evil followed by Distance Yourself and Viewpoint sets the
tone and pace and really gets every crowd moving about. The decision to proceed
with Trouble is a suitable one as the combination of frontman Johnny Madden’s vocal delivery and the tight drumbeat adds an edge and maintains
the sense of vibrancy throughout the set.
Highlights
includes Job in the City, as the scale of their sonic depth reaches a peak at
this point creating strong euphoria, and it brings out lots of emotion. In similar fashion,
the harmonies and cadence of California Sun both demonstrate the band’s ear for
nuance and emphasis on variety.
Completing
the set with the upbeat Friend provides everyone with a feeling of fulfillment
as its Rolling Stones-resembling vibe delivers in more ways than one. Equally, the
big, anthemic quality of Pleasure City alludes to the fact that this is a grand
finale but it does so in a suitably smooth way.
With
a vocal style at times resembling Joe Strummer supported by a slick instrumental setup and a well-composed show all-around, there’s an awareness of the fact that we
are going to see and hear a lot more of Baby Strange in 2019 and that
definitely belongs to the ‘good news’ category.