Typically Scottish rain is pouring down and I am wet and cold. Good job the 13th Note is a great venue to capture a cosy, folk atmosphere with lighting that fits the mood.
Wake The President perform first and embrace a modern indie-folk vibe with their sound.
The core of the band, twin brothers Erik and Bjorn Sandberg, enthusiastically perform and are well suited to a band of this genre with their Swedish roots. Erik is exciting to watch and sounds great.
Slightly out of place, Ste McCabe brings humour to the stage alongside his frantic movements and fashionably strange appearance as he talks about turning our children gay and his songs about “bumholes”.
Singing about harrowing breakdowns, iPhone’s and Tesco, he performs true to his quirky and sarcastic style.
This guy proves that you don’t need a band to bring energy and power to a set as he stands alone with layers of electronic music strumming his pink guitar.
The Hardy Boys arrive to the stage and the small but excitable audience squeezes forward towards the band.
Already the atmosphere suggests we are in for a good show. Having formed in 1985, this band still rocks a stage with their brand of indie-folk.
The sound of cello sweeps softly behind the energies of guitars harmonising well with Kat King’s vocals.
Across the set, they joke about old age and suicide in connection with ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ while maintaining and expressing a close chemistry within.
They play a mix of old and new songs in support of new album British Melancholy and everyone on stage contributes to the vocals.
They end their set with the powerful and perfectly fingerpicked ‘Rest My Beautiful Muse’, a song lasting nearly 10 minutes.
The energy is immense and in all, the set works fantastically with a balanced yet, exciting flow.
Words: Sarah Devine
Photos: Steven Williams
Rave Child 