Fightstar

So Fightstar played on Wednesday night at The Garage in Aberdeen. We went with quite mixed emotions about the gig. I will admit I haven't really listened to Fightstar for years. It was more a combination of a band is actually playing Aberdeen and nostalgia for the past that prompted us to buy tickets. 

I'm glad we went. I saw Fightstar back in 2007, and left a bit disappointed. By the time they came on stage we could only stay around 20 minutes before the last bus home left Aberdeen. This was back in the day before we could drive. I wasn't even old enough to drive back then. Good times.

Although a highlight of the first time was a little know (at the time) support band called You Me At Six. I remember school the next day and everyone that had attended was raving about them. And well let's be fair, who hasn't heard of You Me At Six now?! Although it is a bit sad to see that while YM@6 are selling out Wembley and shit Fightstar are still playing tiny venues. And going by The Garage's facebook page there were still tickets left on the door.

But enough about the past.

Fightstar nailed it. Despite only knowing a few songs I couldn't help but get into the entire gig. The crowd was loving it too, the majority of the dance floor being taken up by a moshpit from start to finish. And the wee grin on Charlie Simpson's face every time the crowd sang louder than him was priceless. All in all, it was a brilliant night that has refuelled a love for the band. And if you get the opportunity to go see them on a future tour go for it. You won't be disappointed.

And if anyone wants a bit of nostalgia, here is a video of Save It For The Bedroom from 2007.

It's A Party - The Subways Live @ The Tunnels Aberdeen

The Subways killed it at The Tunnels in Aberdeen on Friday night. Absolutely killed it. I've seen a lot of bands, and paid a lot more for tickets, and not a lot of them match the energy and talent of The Subways. They've been a favourite of mine for years, and for some reason I've never got around to actually seeing them until now. I already can't wait for the next tour.

The Tunnels is a relatively small venue, and when the dates were announced I was surprised they weren't playing somewhere bigger. But I do love a smaller gig, and to be honest they could have been playing in a pub to 10 people and still been fucking brilliant. Billy and Charlotte spent the entire set jumping and bouncing about the stage. It was obvious the band was having just as good a time as the crowd was.

The opening beats to "Oh Yeah" started and the crowd went wild. Singing along, jumping about, dancing, everyone was clearly loving life. Myself included. The set list was full of the classics, which there are a lot of, as well as including some of the songs from their up and coming album. The older material went down a total storm, and the new songs were received well.

A strange move though,"Rock & Roll Queen", one of the bands biggest and most popular songs, was played half way through the set list. Most bands save the biggest hits for the end, the encore, but then The Subways are not most bands. "Rock & Roll Queen", unsurprisingly had the crowd going mental. 

Another change from the normal gig format, there was no encore. Billy took to the mic near the end stating they think that encores are bullshit, and they were just going to play through instead. More bands should try this. It saves that whole awkward 5 minutes where everyone stands there knowing the band will be back. That and with the whole having to leave stage through the crowd in The Tunnels thing would have just been unnecessary hassle. Ending the night with "It's A Party" properly set it up for a night out after the gig, and had everyone bouncing again. 

All in all, the venue was a great choice, the crowd was decent (not the usual drunken arseholes pissing people off and that person constantly taking photos/videos of the entire thing) and The Subways were fantastic. Please come back to Aberdeen soon guys!

The new self titled album is out in February 2015, but if you pre-order it the first half is available for instant download. Head to thesubways.net for details.

And just because I love the song so much (I've been told it sounds like a description of me...) here's a video for "No Heart, No Soul."