Twin Shadow @ Captain’s Rest 27/1/11

It’s rare you see someone appear as laid back as support act Chad Valley, last time he played in Glasgow he played to next to no one now he’s at a sold out Rest, so it’s a pleasant change for him, nice to see he’s put in the effort.

Banter flies comfortably back and forth exchanging comments surrounding his appearance in the Guardian, the G2 crossword being good and Sudoku not being cool, only to find Joe Strummer died while reading the Guardian and having to dedicate a song.

The music doesn’t let down either as his beautiful take on chillwave sets toes a tapping from the off. Dabbling through his sound experiments, throwing in a touch of disco here and there he provides a delightful start to the night.

Still, it is Twin Shadow people are here to see and the Dominican born artist, full band in tough, in not going to let down. George Lewis Jr., who adopted the persona Twin Shadow following a move to New York, exudes charm telling the crowd they are “exceptionally good looking” can’t go really go badly.

Twin Shadow has been receiving nothing but praise since last year’s debut, Forget. The album breaks down genres confidently and borrows brilliantly from a selection of different movements it’s easy to see why the show sold out way in advance tonight.

Early highlights like ‘Tyrant Destroyer’ capture the audience to perfection as Lewis and co. drag a packed Rest along for a new wave tinged ride as they take the record up a notch and unleash it on the crowd almost forcing everyone to get their dancing shoes on.

“What do they put in the water in Glasgow that they don’t in Manchester?” Lewis questions as he watches his captivated crowd, he even has the confidence to quip: “You have that here too? Annoying guy at the front” taunting a somewhat over eager fan.

‘Castles in the Snow’ is arguably the highlight of the night as he takes one of the most emotionally touching songs on the album and brings it into this upbeat live environment perfectly.

Lewis apologises for having no time to hang out after the show and as the encore approaches they come to the dilemma of leaving the stage. Lewis states: “I’m not going to lie to you, it’s physically difficult to leave the stage, emotionally yes! Physically no!”

They finish off the set with ‘Slow’ and ‘Tether Beat’ tying together an attention grabbing set that really hits the floor running for the new decade, leaving the crowd in the mood for some more dancing, whether they’ll find anything that matches this is very doubtful.

Photo: Euan Robertson

The Walkmen @ Oran Mor 19/1/11

The Walkmen are now into their second decade as a band and after years of consistently quality releases they are finally getting the spotlight they have earned. Tonight they play a packed Oran Mor in this Celtic Connections showcase, and although they don’t really fit in the traditional mould for the festival not one person is complaining.

Support this evening comes from Glasgow’s own Laki Mera, who performs a charming set of indie electronica that easily caught the ears of a few new fans tonight.

Tennessee’s Mona is some thing different altogether, the classic rock four piece has been hyped ridiculously at the start of this year. On first impressions they clearly think they’re better than they are and that impression sadly doesn’t let up.

They give that ‘we want to be stadium rockers’ vibe and I’m sure would be more at home supporting Bon Jovi, as they try to encourage the crowd to sing-along it becomes all too cringe worthy for my liking so I have to wander off.

Looking around the crowd tonight it’s clearly not cool to like The Walkmen, there’s not a scenster in sight instead a more mature audience fills the venue, surely a positive impression on the quality of the band if anything.

From the second the band hit into oldie ‘Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone’ heads start a nodding and they pretty much don’t stop the entire set. Frontman Hamilton Leithauser snarls into the mike with entrancingly heartfelt enthusiasm throughout the early point of the set, which includes ‘In The New Year’ and newbie ‘Angela Surf City’.

Leithauser’s electrifying presence is easily the most enticing thing about The Walkmen’s live show, as you feel he means every word he sings. Announcing they are going to sing a song about a Harlem street where they all stayed together the set takes a more chilled turn, ‘138th Street’ is followed by arguably new album standout ‘Blue As Your Blood’.

‘Victory’ sees the pace boosted again, before Leithauser tells us a girl had told him “this place is very good for sex/drugs parties”, Oran Mor doesn’t seem the likely place but a guy in the crowd replies “some room in back” keeping up the illusion.

‘Juveniles’ closes the set before the band reemerge to perform a rip roaring rendition of possibly their most well known song ‘The Rat’ and ending on the heartfelt bliss of ‘We’ve Been Had’.

The Walkmen may not be the most euphoric live experience but they have that charm that has seem them build a loyal fanbase over the last decade and now, after all their consistency, they are just starting to see the fruits of their labour.

Photo: Ingrid Mur