Live Review

The Tenement Trail – Various, Glasgow

• 10th Mar 2013

Tenement TV is a recent, and excellent, addition to the Glasgow music scene. They record artists in session in a local tenement flat – and rather fine they are too. As well as some very good local bands they have also attracted the likes of Jake Bugg and Gabrielle Aplin along. Check out their latest productions on the web at [link]

The Tenement Trail is the company’s first venture into the world of festivals: 30 or so Scottish bands playing across four city centre venues in a long day of excellent music. And it worked extremely well, with large crowds at Broadcast, The Art School, The Garage and Nice N Sleazy all day long to support the event. There were a lot of musical highlights:

Sienna – Mixing folk, country and Americana influences to give an upbeat and melodic sound, the Kinross band played a good early set. The contrast between their male and female vocalists works well and even playing a stripped back set without a drummer it was clear to see that they have quality as both performers and songwriters.

Boston Tea Party – Dynamic and exciting, the Dundee four piece play the blues like it hasn’t been played in years. With a clear sixties influence, yet with a modern sound, they have all of the blues licks and solos you could ever want. Adding harmonica in places gives another approach, and their lively set went down very well.

Selective Service – With a rock sound that encompasses elements of blues, funk and, at times, reggae, Selective Service from Glasgow have a unique approach that is always entertaining. Guitar and Hammond organ give them a massive sound when added to a solid rhythm section that plays a full part. Their set included a number of new songs that tend more towards melodic rock in the main, as well as some older material. It was a high quality, if too short, set that was very well received.

Dirty Diamond & The Gunslinger – This Glasgow quintet plays a raucous form of blues that features passionate vocals, great lead guitar and occasional gospel and country influences. Their fast paced and stylish music was delivered in fine style, with many in the audience dancing along. And the closing Facebook Blues showed that there are some modern songs being added to the blues canon.

Kassidy (pictured) were made to work hard, with an early afternoon matinée set and the mid evening show I saw – as well as a late night performance at the after party. A massive crowd was crushed into The Art School to see the four piece play a fine acoustic set. Their melodic songs are uplifting and were performed in a party atmosphere with sing-alongs and dancing aplenty. Two new, as yet unnamed, tracks were played, as well as several favourites including Take Another Ride and Oh My God. It was a fine 45 minutes of joyful music that had their many fans in raptures.

Bwani Junction from Edinburgh have a pop edge to their indie sound, and played a fast paced set full of treble heavy guitar and high pitched vocals. Their forthcoming single Cold War sounded good, as did old favourites like the fine Two Bridges. The crowd was becoming lively as the night drew towards a close and the atmosphere grew noticeably during a good set.

Blindfolds headlined the night at Nice N Sleazy with a quite tremendous performance. The young Glasgow band is fast developing a reputation as a fearsome live act, and their hard rocking style gives a modern twist to its fifties roots. Black Magic and Young Blood from the band’s excellent debut EP were superbly delivered, as was new song Cold. Blindfolds feed off their fans’ energy and the pace grew from full throttle to breakneck. A couple of over eager members of the crowd joined the band to dance on stage, soon triggering a full scale invasion. But the band simply kept playing, smiles on their faces throughout, and the night ended in a chaotic scene. It was a fitting way to end a superb set.

The first Tenement Trail was very much a success. I enjoyed the music I heard across the day, and also had good reports on several of the bands I didn’t manage to see, including The Holy Ghosts and The Stagger Rats. The organisation was first class throughout, and the crews at all of the venues did a great job with quick equipment changes to keep things to time.

Let’s hope we are back on the Tenement Trail in 2014.

Venue: Various, Glasgow
Support Band: