Sunday 29/01/06 Be Your Own Pet, Good Shoes, Harrisons, Jeffrey Novak @ ABC2, Glasgow

Showcasing tonight in Glasgow is a goody-bag of gutsy grot-rock, with all the artists totalling an average age of about ten. First up, one man and his band, went to play a gig, one man and his drum, guitar, bottle of beer, went to play a gig! Presenting Jeffrey Novak, simply him a guitar and bass drum, bashing out rawky, punky squwarks! Jemima from BYOP is obviously a fan, taking her place front row in the crowd, head-banging mildly to warm up those neck muscles for severe head banging later. A healthy sized crowd manage to catch this one man wonder who has been shoved on stage so close to opening time. Those who do catch him seem pleasantly surprised to watch his refreshing output of noise!

After a brief break, Harrisons grace the stage, hobbit-like in stature, bringing an entourage of fans with them, pork-pie hat clad and lyric book in tow chanting in time with lead singer Jubby. Hailing from the land of the Arctic Monkeys, they seem to cling onto the 'everything is brilliant in Sheffield' bandwagon - which is luckily what everyone these days is hungry for. The influence of their northern home town is evident, songs as hard as steel and bass lines that are similar to that other famous
Sheffield band (no, not Pulp). That aside, their live sound is similar to British Sea Power, epic and bold- but not as creative. Parallels with the Jam with a dash of ska are hinted at too. The angular strokes created from their guitars industrially saw back and forward. Crowd pleaser 'Wishing Well' goes down, um, well. They squeeze in as many tunes to the set like bassist Birch tries to squeeze his protruding beer belly into his trousers.

Prior to Good Shoes' appearance, Jonas BYOP acts as compere, bringing gifts of opened bottled beers and typical Scots favourite Irn Bru, which are haphazardly lobbed into the crowd of grappling hands and heads ducking for cover. Good Shoes appear, urchin-like and delicate with perfect pop
melodies that are fierce and ready to punch. Rhys's voice is enough to make you melt, his vocals act as the go-between to the intricate guitar work which sounds like there is an argument happening, firing shots back and forth like a game of tennis. The build up to 'We Are Not The Same' creates a heated, pulsating crescendo of guitars with the 'bish-bash-wallop' effect, causing mass clapping. Beautiful music by beautiful boys juxtaposed with the content of harsh realistic tales of life that will
hit you like a slap in the face. Good Shoes are on form, to call them good is an understatement. Good Shoes fit the bill perfectly.

The Be Your Own Pet clan loiter tentatively on the tiny stage, while Jamin the beast on the drums timidly introduces the band, "Er, we're from outta town". Out of town, more like out of this world! From the word go the chaos begins, limbs flailing, heads banging, bodies weaving in and out - and that’s just the guys on stage! Before 'Fire Department', Jemima psychs herself up, her body mildly vibrating, which gradually builds up to a full blown shake. Its electric, like she'd just put a wet finger into a socket. The feeling is contagious like the plague. The other members join in, they look like puppets on strings, and the puppet masters are pissed off their faces and having a fit. Egging the crowd on more, Jonas takes a swig of beer and spits it into the crowd. Its not long til security aggressively arrive to ruin the madness, forming two human barriers. "We haven't played this one live before", they lie as they crash into 'Damn Damn Leash' causing a full blown uncontrollable stage invasion followed by an orgy of crowd surfing from the band - guitars included. Jemima, full of giggles, is being passed around like a game of pass the parcel. These guys are proving life is a game, and they're playing it so damn well. These kids are alright.