Live

The View, Sound of Guns, Love in the Asylum

Joe Coyle 26/11/2010

Rating: 2.5/5

The crowd is sparse for Love in the Asylum, but this doesn't stop the band from giving everything they have got. Coming across like Kings of Leon mixed with Vampire Weekend with a British twist. Love in the asylum are the best support act I have seen for sometime. Dan Dunne's gritty vocals give the music gravitas although his shirt tonight is the worst piece of clothing I have seen in recent history, but like the songs, it is certainly memorable. Pull the Plug is the particular highlight of the set along with the drummer Invisible Frank's monkey hat. Definitely a band to watch.

Next up are Sound of Guns with there classic pumping rock sound. Sometimes exciting to watch as lead singer Andy proves himself a star in the making. His stage presence is such that it frequently eclipses the rest of the band. Climbing on monitors and stage rigging he is a man with exquisite stage craft. It is frustrating though as the rest of the band don't seem to match his standard. Musically they have a professional and tight sound but not as many flashes of inspiration as I would like.

The anticipation for The View starts very soon after the Sound of Guns lead the stage with the crowd chanting “The view, the view, the view are on fire". The Dundonian rapscallions seemed to have disappeared into obscurity. Despite the poor turnout for the support acts by the time The View hit the stage the venue is packed out venue tonight. The View hit the stage with purpose but after a few songs its evident they are not on form tonight. Kyle Falconer is always a watch-able front man with his denim clad juvenile look and his barely understandable Scottish drawl. The View perform with energy and some moments do transcend the performance. They manage to expertly pull off a cover of Squeeze's 'Up the Junction' but that cover just shows up what is sometimes missing from their own material. Leaving the stage with no sign of their biggest hit 'Same Jeans' and an audience who seem bewildered by this omission and for one I walked away from this performance unfulfilled.