Well, I've never written a gig review before. Not a full one, anyway. But, new year, new resolution to get this going again and seeing The Xcerts for the first time in full in a venue I'd never been in before - as good a time to start as any.
So, how was it? I should say that King Tut's itself is a strange place, being a normal pub in the front before the oddly shaped stage area that only has 3/4 of a barrier at the front. The... clientele was a mixed bag, ranging from some truly stunning burds to hipsters galor to someone whose hair was reminscent of Brian May, Kevin Keegan crica 1982 and the guy out The Pigeon Detectives. Though as was expected, the people there were dedicated Xcerts fans which always adds to the good feeling of a gig. To go along with all of these lovely people belting out every word (my jaw/throat is still sore 24 hours later), the sound in King Tut's is superb. Even support band Flood of Red who had 6 instruments as well as a singer with weird vocal effects of some kind sounded brilliant, with none of them too loud like you can get elsewhere (I'm looking at you, whoever's in charge of the bass levels at the Academy).
Speaking of Flood of Red, they're an intriguing band. A 6 piece, their sole aim seems to be to create as much noise as possible. Fortunately, this works since it's combined with some tight drumming, 3 guitars that don't over-power each other and a singer who manages to sound gentle whilst screaming in parts of songs, which is a rare ability and one which adds to the overall sound, enhancing it. One to watch.
I first saw The Xcerts at T in the Park last July:
I'll be honest, I wasn't completely enthused. I think it was down to a combination of me being giddy at actually seeing them and not having gotten into Scatterbrain that much at that point (at least not to the extent I'd fallen in love with In the Cold Wind We Smile beforehand). A few months after that however was the Manchester Orchestra support slot where I saw two of the best live performances I've ever seen, for the simple reason that I believed the performance I was seeing. Every word (of both bands) felt like it was coming from a real place, particularly the closer there, Hurt With Me (though to be fair, it's hard to play/see that without feeling it on some level).
So, would an ill Murray be able to live up to the expectations of a full King Tut's? Of course. Sadly my dream of Scatterbrain/In the Cold Wind We Smile played in full back to back wasn't realised, and I didn't hear Nightschool (though I wasn't alone in my disappointment at this, but at least I wasn't impertinent enough to keep shouting for it). That aside, it was perfect. The great sound, great crowd and great performances from the three of them made for an excellent start to a new year of gigs. It's always nice to see a frontman in a band who has something of a personality, with a bit of crowd interaction (which would be especially daunting since most girls there seemed to be both pishing and gagging for it). Plus there was a nice cameo from the baldy (and eerily not-looking-like-a-real-person) guitar player from Flood of Red during Slackerpop and then some more of them during Crisis in the Slow Lane. This didn't feel token either, they all seemed to like each other and it worked.
I'd been a bit worried that Murray's recent illness would have affected his performance, but I think he was faking to avoid Bath & Preston and give the Aberdeen & Glasgow shows his real attention. A flawless vocal performance (on the occasions I could hear it above everyone else singing) and the set ending perfectly put the cap on a truly wonderful evening, and best of all: the new song (which I've not found a name for) sounded excellent. I hope it's a good representation of what's to come on the new album because if it is, then I think the band may finally reach the breakthrough they've deserved for the last ten years. AndI'll be there to see them again when they do.
Meanwhile, here's some pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stpatty/sets/72157629001859073/ (side-note: Murray has lovely eyes)
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