King Tut’s

Almost 2 years to the day since I got a message asking if I was free to go along and see a friend-of-a-friend’s band play, as they were trying to get some industry attention and needed as big a crowd as they could muster, I saw the same band storm a near-full headline set at King Tut’s.

I was impressed with 100 Fables from that very first show. I have since seen them also win over a very dreich festival crowd at Butefest last year and they have indeed garnered the attention of the music industry and media alike. At first I thought I would have to miss the Tut’s show due to it being mid-week, but then I realised it was the summer holidays, my kids were spending the week at their grandparents, so I was indeed free to go.

After meeting a different friend for tea, browse of city centre record shops and a most delicious pizza, I headed up to the venue. I got there just as the first support were finishing, so literally heard about their last 3 notes. The Whispering Pines were next up, the place was still quite empty, more people in the bar area than on the floor in front of the stage. The band were ok, lots of ballads and slow numbers, which I didn’t really take to and thought were kind of predictable in their format.

The next support was Rigid Soul. I really liked them. Blues-laden rock music, they were young but had a sound akin to the Stones and guitar solos that gave a nod to Zeppelin and co. As the floor filled up, the room became alive and what had started as a small cohort of predominantly the band’s friends and family became a decent crowd dancing and nodding along appreciatively.

100 Fables made the most of being headliners, with more of a deliberately showy stage entrance than before, but once they started playing, they proved that they were entitled to a bit of showmanship. They have added a 2nd guitar, giving that extra layer to the sound and overall a heavier feel than I remember. Somehow, without any keyboards or synths on stage they still sound like a fundamentally electro-pop band, albeit with grungier undertones.

I was pleased to see so many people singing along, they have clearly gathered quite a loyal following in the last couple of years. They played some songs that I had heard before, as well as some new ones. They crammed as many songs into their quite short set as they could, again I got the feeling they were out to impress and show off their fullest range possible.

Their songs are catchy, quirky and they play with rhythm and structure just enough to catch out those not fully familiar with their repertoire with unexpected breaks, changes of pace and segues into Annie Lennox and Killers part-covers. They are fresh, interesting and highly entertaining.

Lead singer Lyndsey steals the show with her swirling, whirling, shimmaying joyful presence on stage, and voice that has a range of different styles and tones than I have heard come from anyone else, but the contribution of the other members should not be overlooked. The band play with more restraint than their lead singer and may not have her overt flair, but they are musicians who are getting better and better and have a more muted charisma themselves. I enjoyed watching all of then at various points.

They snuck a few extra bits of songs in after the scheduled end time. It was late, and some had to leave to catch last trains etc, but many of us were having too much fun and stayed on regardless. 100 Fables are certainly a band on the rise, and I look forward to seeing them fill even bigger venues before too long.

Ok, if I’d known at the start of the year that WAS would eventually announce a UK mega-tour, I would probably not have gone to see them in Manchester, but hey, that trip was fun and I’m not complaining about a few more WAS shows. The Glasgow gig was in King Tuts and on a Friday, so there was no question that I was going to be heading along. Then PAWS were confirmed as the support and an after-show DJ set was announced, it promised to be a special one.

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I didn’t have the best run-up, with both girls being up all night the night before, so I was exhausted before I even got into town. I went straight from dropping the girls off at their dad’s, so got in pretty early. I then found out that the gig was going to be a late one – stage time 9pm for the openers PAWS. Oh well, decision to bring the car and ensure a passage home vindicated and it would give me some time to decompress and get into gig-mode.

I got a bite to eat and had a wander round town. I was due to meet up with some people but they were getting food elsewhere. Unfortunately, the rain came on and I wanted to conserve my energy, so after checking out the location of the after-show party, I wandered down to Tut’s. It was cool to see the board outside Tut’s, and the excitement of seeing my favourite band in the best small venue in Glasgow gave me chills of anticipation.

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The bar area was fairly quiet, so I ordered an “I’m driving” diet coke and sat reading while I waited for the others to arrive. Yes, I have reached the point of not-giving-a-crap that I will sit in King Tut’s bar with a soft drink, reading the poetry of Edwin Morgan while the bar fills up and people start to get annoyed with me. BTW you should also read the poetry of Edwin Morgan. I was lost in his Instamatic poems for a pleasant hour while I was waiting.

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The bar got really busy, with some really tall blokes. I was sensing that I would have to be down the front if I was going to see anything other than the back of someone’s shoulders all night. My friends arrived just as the doors opened, I was introduced to some friends of friends and we split into those who wanted a barrier spot and those happy to hang back. It was nice having some gig buddies for a change, it turns out we’d been to a lot of the same shows, so we shared stories and recommendations for a while as we waited for PAWS to come on.

PAWS were awesome as usual. Loud, raucous and energetic. Despite listening to their records a fair amount since I saw them a few months ago, I still don’t have a handle on their lyrics, so I was once again left showing my appreciation through dancing, jumping and belting out the occasional line that I had picked up. They were playing with a different bassist, but were still tight and held together well.

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In the near 45 minute wait for WAS to come on, I was seriously flagging. It was literally past my normal bedtime, I was beginning to wish I had brought an inflatable pillow to lay on the barrier and have a disco nap.

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It was kinda surreal seeing WAS in King Tut’s, but they definitely had the measure of the place. The setlist was liberally injected with older hits, Keith M clearly intended to get the place jumping and keep it that way. I think it was during Nobody Move that we felt the first rush of people behind us, and from that point onward we were crushed, squished and thrust upon. I could barely breathe at times, and my arms were pinned into position. It made signing along a more onerous task.

“My body is your bo-aahgh-ugh-dy”. “I’m gonna wai-gah-umf-hauaahh-t right here”

At one point I heard a girl somewhere behind me yell an apology to someone, “I’m sorry if my husband’s penis is against your bumhole!” Glasgow – classy as ever.

Adding to our discomfort were 2 spotlights that shone with the light and heat of a thousand suns, and regularly turned on us. Blinded at intervals and unable to focus for good periods of time. Did we care? Not at all. It is amazing the things you’ll put up with to see a good band storm a belter of a show.

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It wasn’t all oldies, thankfully, we also got all 4 singles (not sure if they are proper singles, but the ones with videos off of Helter Seltzer) and the usual suspects from Barbara and TV en Francais. I had myself a real moment during Sprinkles. Sprinkles is one of my favourite songs from TVeF (notwithstanding Don’t Blow It, d’ya hear me, Mr Murray?) and it sounded immense last night. I love that their newer songs are more expansive and deeper sonically than the older stuff, I don’t know how they do it with just 3 of them (ok, I hear ya Mr Murray) but Sprinkles last night just gave me that wonderful resonance in my gut, the hairs standing up on the back of your neck-type feeling and it was glorious.

We were in a central position on the barrier, but I kind of missed my usual Chris-side view, Chris’ facial expressions and sheer coolness are entertaining to watch. I was closer to Keith M, especially as he kept moving his mic stand over to the middle of the stage, but it was verging on that uncomfortable closeness where you feel weird staring that them. I spent a good deal of time watching Keith C, due to the less-weird distance, my newly re-discovered drumming activity and just because he is proving as entertaining to watch as Chris. Carne spent 95% of the gig with the most massive grin. I’m so unbelievably glad he’s still with the band and apparently having such a good time. The PAWS drummer, Josh, spent their whole set hunched over his kit, literally thrashing it as if his life depended on it, gripped by some rhythm-induced mania or seizure. Carne, on the other hand, is the epitome of control and composure. And grins.

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During Textbook, Murray took off into the crowd to locations unknown, his disembodied voice carried back to us through the speakers for the duration of the song. The tempo, energy and Glasgow spirits were all high for the near-hour of the main set, then they came back for a short encore, with PAWS joining in for After Hours. Too Late is a perfect set closer and I was pleased to witness a mass sing-a-long to the chorus of this newer song.

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It was over around 11.15pm and revitalised by the gig I decided to join some of our group and head over to the after-party. I wasn’t familiar with Firewater, the venue, but we soon found the small dance floor with Chris at the controls, playing Editors Papillon. Chris, it turns out, is a pretty hot DJ, the mix of songs got everyone dancing and singing and raised quite a few cheers. Keith M was dodging in and out of the booth taking requests and a fair few selfies with people. He said hi to me and we had a quick chat. Later, Carne joined the party, eschewing the DJ booth for the dance floor. We managed to have a quick catch-up chat too, before returning to the dance floor for the final few songs.

I haven’t been dancing in years. I was never much one for dancing, I was always too self-conscious. But I remembered something I had read Amy Poehler say – “No-one looks stupid when they’re having fun.” I took this to heart and had the most fun I have had in a long time.

It’s hard to convey just how much this band means to me. I have had a pretty crappy couple of years with one thing and another, and things like going out to gigs have been a saving grace for me. Going out to gigs, taking up drums again, reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. Dancing. I can’t explain how important it is to me that I am doing these things, taking time for myself and pushing myself out of my comfort zone. The trigger for this could have been anything. Some people in my position aren’t lucky enough to find such a trigger. For me, the trigger happened to be a rock band. I left feeling so much love for them, the people they had brought me into contact with and all they represented for me.

Next stop – Berlin!!

P.S. my phone photos are a bit crap this time due to aforementioned pinioning and lack of breath / sight. Luckily, my companion Fiona takes a much better picture than me, you can find her photos here.

Ruth4Truth

The truth as I see it – blogs, essays and musings

100 Fables, King Tut’s Glasgow, 9th August 2018

We Are Scientists, PAWS & some Disco Dancin’