Live Reviews


  Aces N’ Eights, Lanterns, Artificial RED and After-Hyde live at Pivo Pivo in Glasgow



They say in the bible that God loves you. Not in an inappropriate way, of course, but you can feel his love everywhere including downstairs in the abasement of Pivo Pivo. It might be a rock night but that doesn’t mean that Aces N’ Eights, Lanterns, Artificial RED and After-Hyde have sold their soul to the devil. His love is, after all, contagious and loud.

Well, Lanterns might have sold their soul. With youthful enthusiasm and a slavish reverence to the gruff tones and near robotic thrash of the metal genre adopted into their songs as if it were a matter of honour, they soon set about proving that there was still life in the old hard rock dinosaur.

After-Hyde had, in contrast, both maturity on their side and an affinity for the melodic hair rock of the nineties. Whilst most of the band were approaching a time when that hair would become but a memory, singer Mhairi Burleigh nevertheless took the opportunity to freshen things up and, with the lyrical courage to take a stance, the value of this band's worth could easily be calculated.

Clearly fond of metaphysical jams, Artificial RED avoided any accusations of being in touch with their inner femininity with a set that verged on the anarchic whilst steering a course right done the middle of the rocky road. Big boys with big riffs pretty much sums up their approach to live performance and there’s nothing wrong with that when beer is also on the menu. As it was, fortunately.

Aces ‘N’ Eights proved to be a more erratic proposition with the professionalism hinted at in their songwriting often being overridden by a traffic lights at the rush hour approach to live performance. When the lights were green, their musical muscles were obvious but, even when stalled at a red light, their fans knew they were hearing what they wanted. It’s a belief in yourself thing at the end of the day.

It’s approaching the witching hour and a voice proclaims that it’s time to do the time warp again. That’s not likely to happen for, while fringes are cute and the cat’s in the cradle, Bluesbunny don’t dance. Not ever. Not even if God gifts him a personally autographed copy of the Bible.



Reviewer:
Review Date: October 21 2014


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