Photo:
Glasgow's got a mixed reputation among live acts - some bands talk of the cities audiences as if they're ready to rip apart any poor soul who dares to go on stage. But if things go right, Glasgow crowds are known as some of the most welcoming you could find. It's obviously been the latter case for Shiny Toy Guns, as they let the audience know that they've arranged the tour to end in Glasgow just due to the amazing time they had here in July. It doesn't look like their expectations will be dashed by tonight’s audience.
They’ve been warmed up by Kill Hannah, who are a true testament to the power of MySpace: there’s a small but rampant fan base crammed in front of the stage who know all the lyrics, despite the band having no UK releases yet. Half an hour of punky, sleazy rock, hair gel and laser beam guitars later, they’re off with a flurry of kisses and declarations of love.
Shiny Toy Guns come on stage to throbbing coloured strobes and a sound that lives up to them, a loud, techno inflected rock. Bass thrums from the stage and drummer Mikey Martin bangs out the beats with efficiency of a drum machine. Singer Carah Faye stomps across the stage shaking her hair as her guitar playing counterpart Chad Petree poses at the front. Their voices, hers sweet and his deep, play off each other well. Jeremy Dawson’s keyboards bring the dance to their songs.
The room feels like a club as the crowd bounces up and down throwing shapes. Shiny Toy Guns come across well on stage, eager to please and enthusiastic. After ending the set on their biggest hit, ‘Don’t Cry Out’, they’re hailed back to the stage to round off the tour with their cover of Depeche Mode’s ‘Stripped’. Some youngsters try and carry out a stage invasion but are quickly thwarted by the bouncer who’s built this side of a brick shithouse. Still, their trying was in the spirit of the crowd, who, from the band’s pleas to party with them, seem to have kept the good side of Glasgow’s reputation going for one more night.
