Live Review

We Are Augustines – O2 ABC2, Glasgow

• 11th May 2012

We Are Augustines gave a capacity crowd in Glasgow a tremendous night of entertainment as they ended their UK tour in some style. This show had already been moved up from a smaller venue and the size of the crowd combined with a wonderfully passionate performance made this a night to remember.

Support act My Goodness were also excellent. The hard rocking duo form Seattle have been receiving some very good press on this tour and their energetic set was compulsive watching, evidenced by the growing reaction from the audience.

Joel Schneider on guitar and vocals gave a great display of bluesy riffs and power chords. His deep voice is expressive and perfectly matched the nature of the music. Drummer Ethan Jacobsen was a blur at times, his animated style close to perpetual motion as the rolls and fills thundered and the cymbals crashed.

Schneider and Jacobson played off each other perfectly. The drum beats matched the riffs and the explosive sound achieved belied the fact that there were only two musicians on the stage. Their short set was filled with blues based songs, along with others like their single C’Mon Doll that have a touch of reverb on the vocals giving a hint of old time rock n roll.

My Goodness have an album out in the States and the hope is that it will be released on this side of the Atlantic later in the year. On the basis of their live performance it will be one to look out for.

We Are Augustines played for over an hour, and it would have been longer but for a curfew at the venue. Lead singer Billy McCarthy led the band onto the stage and they launched into Philadelphia (City of Brotherly Love) from the superb album Rise Ye Sunken Ships. The sound was excellent, the delivery passionate and the extended guitar parts gave the song added bite, while Rob Allen on the drums set a frenetic pace.

Much of the set was taken from the band’s recent album, although a fine version of Ballad Of A Patient Man kept the temperature up before things slowed a little for the current single Juarez, with bassist Eric Sanderson on the keyboards.

The energy was high throughout an electrifying night, and it was clear that the band were having the time of their lives. Augustine was softer with McCarthy on acoustic guitar, but the level of emotion did not drop at all. And two additional guitarists were added to the mix, making the sound even bigger.

Book Of James was a highlight, the massive power of the track serving to highlight the deeply emotional lyrics. The crowd by now had been whipped into a frenzy, singing along to every track, and the chorus echoed through the room as the guitars wailed.

This was the end of the set proper, although Billy McCarthy did not leave the stage. He talked of how much the tour had mean to the band and how much he enjoyed playing in Glasgow. And it was obvious that this was heartfelt; not just the usual rock platitudes for the hometown crowd. McCarthy may have made a mistake in asking for a lesson in Glaswegian slang though. But he quickly got through that and went on to deliver a lovely solo version of East Los Angeles.

Eric Sanderson & Rob Allen soon returned to the stage and the band played Headlong Into The Abyss, another big song that delighted the crowd, who were by now pressed against the small barrier at the front of the stage. McCarthy complained about the early curfew, asking why they had to stop when it was barely 10pm, before ending the night with the excellent Chapel Song. Sanderson, now on electric guitar, performed an admirable crowd surf, managing to get back to the stage with his guitar still plugged in, and he didn’t stop playing the whole time.

This was a quite tremendous live performance from We Are Augustines. The band put every last reserve of energy they had into making the closing show of their tour a special one and it was very much appreciated by a loud and animated crowd. There is no better sight in music than a band that loves to perform as much as these guys do, and this was a show that will be long remembered.