Review of Twin Atlantic live at Glasgow King Tuts supported by The Black Belles on 3rd May 2012

2012 could be the Twin Atlantic's biggest year to date. The Scottish four piece has support slots with Blink 182 on their UK tour plus dates in the US supporting Incubus. Not to mention the recently announced slots at the Reading Festival and T in the Park.

Twin Atlantic

But last Thursday saw the alt rockers return to Glasgow to play King Tuts as part of the Jack Daniels Roots series of gigs. Support was provided by Nashville Haling three piece,

The Black Belles. The all female band, signed to Jack White's label, was playing in Scotland for the first time and their scuzzy sounding style of rocking blues rock was enjoyed by the Glasgow crowd.

When Twin Atlantic took to the stage, the fans were ready for action and the band duly obliged, kicking off with Yes I was drunk, whipping the crowd into a frenzy. Frontman Sam McTrusty was the master of ceremonies for the hour long set, urging the fans on. He made several trips between the stage and the safety barrier to interact with the crowd, with his head brushing against the low King Tuts ceiling.

Despite the small venue, Twin Atlantic was able to sound epic. This was thanks to guitarist Barry McNeil's atmospheric guitars. They filled the room where some bands can sound barren in small venues.

The rest of the band were also in fine fettle during the set. Bassist Ross McNae modestly went about his business laying down bass lines for McTrusty and McNeil to shred over.

This was particularly the case on Eight days. Craig Kneale was keeping things tight at the back with some good old fashioned solid drumming.

The curveball of the evening came in the shape of a solo acoustic cover of Walking in Memphis. Despite being one of the worst songs in existence McTrusty was able to put his own spin on it with his Scottish accent.

Naturally the biggest cheers of the night were kept for the singles. To use a Scottish expression, the young crowd were giving it laldi when the band tore into Make a beast of myself. This found the band's sound at its biggest as the guitar riffs blew through the venue. Free, the band's biggest single to date, brought the largest sing along of the evening when McTrusty led the crowd as they sang "So I can be free."

Despite only playing for an hour Twin Atlantic were able to squeeze every last drop of energy into the set. They played the singles and the album tracks that the fans love. It will probably be the one of the smallest gigs they will play this year as they move on to those big support slots and festival dates in the summer. It will be interesting to see how well their style of atmospheric alt rock can fill those arenas.

3.5/5

Shaun Kelly


Official Site - http://twinatlantic.com

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