Live Review

Young Rebel Set – King Tut’s, Glasgow

• 7th Apr 2010

The night started with a large and noisy crowd filling the famous King Tut’s club in Glasgow, something of a surprise for an Easter holiday Monday.

Support band Bad Bad Men, a local pop/folk group, opened the show with an entertaining, if mellow, set, which was very well received. Their acoustic guitar based songs have a clear country influence and highlights were, the crowd favourite, Gallows and the extravagantly titled closer, Lord Be A Raven And Pluck Out My Wandering Eyes.

But it appeared that much of the audience had come purely to see this one band and they then promptly left, leaving a rather sparse crowd for the headline act.

Young Rebel Set played a 40 minute set that was professionally delivered, but which failed to hit the heights that their reputation would suggest they are capable of achieving. Of course, it may simply be too much to expect a band to be on top form for every gig of a 24 show UK tour, but this was a definite off night for the boys from Stockton On Tees. Whatever the reason, the performance betrayed a lethargy that moved slowly from the stage to the crowd.

It was difficult to hear lead singer Matty Chipchase at times; the somewhat muddy vocals indistinct in a mix that, at times, included five guitars. Indeed, with seven band members on the small stage there was no room to move. Their gritty tales of love and loss in a northern town were performed adequately, but without the spark that was required to ignite the remaining audience.

It was the slower numbers on the set list that stood out from the rest. The keyboard driven Border saw Chipchase abandon his guitar and perform in a far more animated manner, showing the emotion of the song as he clutched his mic. A new song, slow ballad Red Bricks, also stood out. The title track from their forthcoming EP, Won’t Get Up Again, was perhaps the highlight, a heartfelt example of exactly what the band can produce at its best.

This was no more than an average night’s work from a band that appears to have the ability to deliver a much more memorable performance. The songs are decent and the musicianship is of a high quality, but there was something missing from the delivery on this occasion.

The evening was closed by another local band, The Banter Thiefs from Motherwell. Curiously scheduled after the main act, the youthful four piece group injected some much needed vitality into proceedings with a high tempo and high energy performance of some quality.

Their power chord based indie sound and anthemic choruses, performed with some fine dance moves, delighted both their travelling fans and those who had stayed until the end of the night. The band showed with a couple of well delivered slower numbers that they can add some subtlety to their music when required.

The Banter Thiefs are young and still a bit rough around the edges. But these boys clearly enjoy playing live and their undoubted raw talent makes them a band to be watched. Remember the name!