Oran Mor kicks off the start of Tijuana Bibles’ “Ghost Dance” tour- a 24-date tour around Europe, and with the release of their second EP Ghost/Dance/Movement their biggest headline in their home city has been highly awaited as these guys take on some new territories.
Laura St Jude is the opening act with her band in tow; as she starts her set the audience is really just a handful of people.
However small the crowd is, they are completely silenced by her voice, it’s quite beautifully haunting, simple, but a fine richness to it much alike the instruments accompanying her.
As a live performer she is mesmerising, and knows how to express her lyrics in a completely elegant and emotional way.
The crowd pick up a bit, but nothing near the audience she should be getting; there was definitely intensity in her performance and a lot of promise.
Four-piece indie rock band Kelvin take to the stage next and they have been getting a lot of attention recently from some big names in the industry, most notably from Simple Minds.
They recently played a stripped back set for a Scottish Alternative Music Awards showcase, being recognised for their prominence and abrupt success in the Scottish scene.
In a short while their sound has gone from strength to strength, and they have really become prominent fixtures in the scene.
The front of the stage is filled with fans; this isn’t their headline of course, but a massive turnout of people.
They have an amazing stage presence and frontman Connor interacts with the audience getting them excited for the headline.
You can definitely hear that the guys have found their way and got a signature style, it’s very rich and their songwriting is far beyond their years.
There is certain rareness to their sound and it won’t be too long before they can take on a venue this size for a headline.
The venue is now packed, and as the crowd wait for the headline act you can feel the hype around the room; if their psychedelic sound wasn’t enough, Tijuana Bibles have really distinguished themselves from any other band through their live performances.
They really feed off of the adrenaline of their fans and give an awestruck and ecstatic performance, notably frontman Tony Costello really knows how to connect with his audience.
The crowd erupts to a frantic hysteria as the guys take to the stage and right away they go into a totally different mode and it’s all about the music.
The atmosphere has changed from being an eager buzz to having some high tensions and spirits as everyone head bangs and bounces along.
Despite the ruggedness driving of the guitar and bass along with the snarling of the drums, they create a completely precise and on point sound.
It goes without saying that these guys have some fucking class musicianship together, but the drums carry this performance and it’s been a good few gigs since I’ve heard some tremendous playing like this.
After playing a mixture of songs from their EP’s, new and old, it comes to the last song and I think everyone is with me when I say I’ve been waiting all night for ‘Wild River’.
Everyone needs to have a listen to Tijuana Bibles, personally I think everyone need to get to a gig to see them, but when they play ‘Wild River’, like so many times before, the crowd explodes into euphoria.
Amazing headline from Tijuana Bibles, and two fantastic sets from Kelvin and Laura St Jude.
Words: Olivia Campbell
Photos: Stewart Fullerton
Rave Child 