Tonight it's the turn of Freshers' Revolution, offering up not only its usual clubnight but also the added bonus of the bands Hell is for Heroes and Brigade.
Brigade start off rather promisingly with some catchy songs, and at first strike me as almost a combination of Muse and At the Drive In with a few other bands that I can't quite put my finger on ... sadly they fail at being either.
Technically they play a decent set, with everyone in perfect timing, and their frontman hitting every note—they just lack, well ... that special something that makes them memorable. All their songs end up merging together in my mind to make one big set-long song. In fact I was left with such a feeling of "meh" at the end of their set, that it took me about half an hour just to think up a few sentences to describe it.
Don't get me wrong, they're not
bad by any means, just bland, and I fail to see them making a name for themselves in their own right. If they ever do play a large capacity venue in their own right I will, quite genuinely, eat my hat.
Hell Is For Heroes, in stark contrast, explode onto the stage and make their presence felt. Playing a combination of songs the audience know such as
I Can Climb Mountains intermixed with some album tracks, they manage to play a fairly varied set that holds the audience's attention—albeit a rather small audience for the venues capacity.
Some stage diving and climbing into the crowd later on the part of the band, and it's all over, in what was a rather nicely proportioned set.
Kudos to Hell is for Heores though for not being phased by the poor turnout. They could so easily have held back and not put half the effort into the set they did. The few fans who did turn out to see them no doubt were rather impressed, and I wouldn't be surprised if they haven't gained some new fans.
All in, I felt the night was horribly let down by the admissions policy. This year, unlike my own Freshers' week a few years ago, enterance was restricted to those with a Freshers' pass only. Combined with some typical Glasgow weather, this lead to a rather poor turnout, and the balcony being closed to the public, with the main dancefloor not even full.
It genuinely was a shame. The makings of a really memorable Freshers' Rev were all there, all it needed was some fans who actually wanted to see the band to set the mood for the night and help it to be the gig it should have.
I still remember my Freshers' week with The Proclaimers playing and a packed hall and balcony with hundreds of people chanting
"I would walk 500 miles". It's what Freshers' week should be, but already the memories of 2006 Fresher's Rev are fading for me ...
http://www.myspace.com/brigade http://www.myspace.com/hellisforheroes Freshers' Rev gallery.
