Bear in Heaven @ Captain’s Rest 23/4/10

Tonight saw Brooklyn’s Bear in Heaven take up Scottish soil for the first time in their seven years together opening to warm reception from an eager yet not entirely packed Captain’s Rest. The band’s first European tour had been struck by the volcanic ash scenario, which has restricted all travel in northern Europe, effectively leaving the guys stranded in Spain just last week. However, they have made it here tonight and after successful shows London and Manchester the band are buzzing as the UK leg of the tour runs without problem.

For myself tonight’s set took a little bit of a different context, before seeing the experiencing the brilliant experimental rock of Bear in Heaven I had been down at Stereo catching the first ever live appearance of Glasgow’s newest hardcore novelty Prolife in support of Take a Worm for a Walk Week. The four-piece, made up entirely of Nice n’ Sleazy’s staff, produce an explosively aggressive nine-minute set leaving the audience breathless. Take a Worm certainly had something to live up to but for me it was BiH who unknowingly had to live up this onslaught.

The moustachioed three-piece certainly do not disappoint as they break into the set and build and build without ever dropping pace. There are times in the set when you are drawn to thinking when is this momentum going to go off the rails but all credit the band as they cruise comfortably from track to track mostly taken from only recently UK released latest album ‘Beast Rest Forth Mouth’.

‘Ultimate Satisfaction’ builds slowly but Jon Philpot and co eventually brings the track to a superb crescendo as the crowd lap up every note. ‘Wholehearted Mess’ also proves a high point of the set as Philpot sways on spot in an assured almost camp manner powering out ‘dig out, dig out, dig out...’ while the rhythm section look cool and confident taking on the adoration from the crowd. Ending the set with crowd favourite ‘Lovesick Teenagers’ proves a fitting end to a nonstop set and while not displaying that violent hardcore pursuit which Prolife expelled BiH certainly stepped up to anything anyone was asking for them to terms of unbounded quality.

If you’re lucky enough to be hitting the Green Man Festival this summer be sure to pop along and catch them at their only UK festival appearance.

Photo: Ingrid Mur

The Twilight Sad @ ABC 2/4/10

Seeing The Twilight Sad live in quadraphonic sound is more than a mouth-watering prospect. The band’s sound can challenge most post rock on a room filling level but it is when coupled with the deep, ever-so Scottish words of James Graham that it approaches behemoth scales within the scene they frequent.

Tonight’s unique event has drawn huge excitement with the ABC jam-packed and forming a who’s who of the Glasgow music scene with Frightened Rabbit, We Were Promised Jetpacks and even Tommy Reilly among others making up the numbers.

After a bit of pre-recorded banter demonstrating how the sound set up works tonight’s heroes emerge on stage. Opening with the slow brooding ‘Reflection of the Television’, the opener from impressive latest album ‘Forget the Night Ahead’, the band lurch into action with Graham seemingly spiralling through the emotions for undoubtedly one of the biggest crowd they have ever played to.

Working through a set of comprised pretty evenly from both full lengths The Twilight Sad certainly put an argument together for the label of one of Scotland’s best bands. The stand out tonight comes direct from their emphatic debut ‘Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters’ in the form of ‘I Am Taking the Train Home’ wooing the audience with an ever impressive wall of sound synonymous with The Twilight Sad.

Now when in comes to the quadraphonic experiment, being allowed to do this clearly means a lot to the band and here are truly mesmerising moments that strike awe. A slow has the sound experiment seeming to be almost lost but as the band edge through their set the sound become more and more noticeable and impressive. When Graham emotionally thanks the crowd, seeming quite overwhelmed with the event, sound rings beautifully around the entire room.

Ending the set on the wonderful ‘Cold Days From the Birdhouse’ The Twilight Sad are successful in showing just why they are so special to this scene and just in general. If you have not seen this band before, whether in quadraphonic or not, get yourself along the next time you can, you are missing out!

Photograph: Joshua Porter