Went to my first gig of 2004 on Thursday to see diskant friends Hookers Green No1 despite the pouring rain and general miserableness of a late January Glasgow evening. Although intending to be fashionably late, we were actually the first people to arrive downstairs which meant a nice sit down and some James Orr Complex on the speakers. Then the hordes of student TopShop hipsters arrived and things got going. The first band (no idea what they were called, sorry) were not very interesting at all with their mishmash of postrock and 90s indie and the stage presence of a band that practices ever Saturday afternoon in their mum’s garage followed by egg and chips.

Hookers Green, however, are no egg and chips band. Shuffling about onstage with their brass section they looked slightly surprised to be there, as if they’d just woken up to find themselves onstage. The recorded HG stuff has an air of woozy dreaminess but live the songs became much louder and faster which was both a good and a bad thing. When the dual drumming kicked in on one song it sounded brilliant but the trombone often got drowned out by the general clamour. I’d like to see them mid afternoon or at about 3am with time to slow things down and let the songs drag themselves out to whatever end. They have much promise, probably my Band To Look Out For in 2004. So, look out for them (and somebody release their damn record!)

Posted: 01|31|04 at 2:32 pm. Filed under: live reviews.
Comments and pings are currently closed.