The Views frontman Kyle Falconer attracted a friendly charming crowd into the Bowery last night the kind of audience who care for the person behind them, making sure they were not restricting anyone’s view. It’s a refreshing and welcome attitude if only all audiences were as caring for each others enjoyment. With some Scottish accents gracing our ears it’s apparent Falconers fans are willing to travel a bit to enjoy his performance.
TADGH the “all-round decent young fella” from Dublin kicked the night off. After ensuring we know exactly how to spell his name correctly he begins his set flooding our ears with glorious grooves swirled blissfully between luscious soul and funky flecks. ‘Danger’ and ‘Live Like You’ give an uncanny Justin Timberlake vibe with a subtle nod to Jamiroquai. His vocals are impressive as he slides effortlessly into his falsetto with such graceful ease. His stance is simple as he allows his soulful vocals exude funky swagger. ‘Same To You’ a sweet little ditty about the relationship you have with your dog displays his quirky songwriting while instrumentally his faultless sophisticated approach keeps things classy. It’s a set brimming with buoyant guitar licks, groove infested bass lines and lush synths. Each track glows with a feel good sheen, full bodied funk and hip hop edge that keeps it refreshing and ensures there is something for everyone within each tune.
The wonderfully eccentric Cult Called Man follow. The colourful attire is on display as they stroll in with a sound and persona that is so cool and sweet it’s like a sliding glacier of Mr Freeze pops. These guys are pretty adept at commanding attention. With luscious guitar melodies weaving their golden psychedelic fuzz through the mind melting backdrop and quirky powerful vocals, there is something mesmerising about this band. Not even an electrical problem keeps them from doing their thing. Three songs in their sound goes and after a brief waiting period (as some audience members encourage them on) finally with the words “and god said let there be sound” the band were off again belting out their strutting glossy tunes. ‘Welcome To The Island’ was my favourite of their tracks last night. With its rooted elastic bass line driving through slick guitar licks, its a flamboyant track saturated in 80’s – esque bliss steeped in a somewhat creepy vibe. It was this track that won me over once and for all. Blending a razor sharp alternative edge with a glam rock persona these guys have something unique. The slippery melodies slide into your ears with effortless charm leaving us captivated and consumed in their sleazy gritty mayhem.
Kyle Falconer takes to the stage to massive applause and cheers whipping straight into the infectious ‘Poor Me’. The crowd bellow back the lyrics, dancing and jumping joyously- they really get involved with each and every track as if Falconer is singing to them personally or narrating details of their own lives.They point to him and sing the lines they relate to the most – as loud and as proudly as they can. ‘Family Tree’ and ‘The Therapist’ go down particularly well with this cheerful crowd- they sway and hold each other looking at strangers like old chums as Falconer coos and floods the air with sweet uplifting bliss. The jubilant atmosphere increases with each song leaving everyone smiling, basking in the radiance that Falconer produced. Every song was bellowed back to him with utter passion and heartfelt emotion- it was amazing to watch. Falconer takes to the keys for a tender delicate rendition of ‘Tacky Tattoo’ as the crowd swayed and some even attempted to harmonise along. ‘Avalanche’ was stomped to while ‘Face For The Radio’ sparked a mass sing along and final track ‘Grace’ created a sort of wiggle mosh frenzy. The crowd lapped up the old tunes and new with great enthusiasm and energy. They tried calling for “one more tune” as the last song came to its final note but Falconer shook hands with the audience at the stage, handed out set lists and left, grateful for their calls and appreciation for his tunes.
Leaving the venue I saw fans clutching merchandise they had just bought, hugging t-shirts, absolutely devoted to this Scottish lad and why not he put on a crisp show oozing as much love for his fans as they had for him. It was quite a special heartwarming show.
synchronized head movement between O’Hanlon and Ross Farrelly add a nice bit of humour and fun to what is a slick proficient set. Their stage personas are becoming larger than life and they seem at their best live, smiling and bantering with the crowd. They create a modest effect of frenzy among the crowd who are a wee bit tamer than the last show I saw the Strypes at. The girl frenzy is turned down a touch at the start but they scream when Farrelly slides down his glasses to look over them and they lose their sh*t when he strolls down to the front holding the mic out for them to sing along. Josh McClorey shows off his nimble steamy guitar skills and rock and roll guitar facial expressions as he adds some ornamentation throughout their set which is particularly impressive during ‘Angel Eyes’. They balance their set between a perfect mix of the beloved tracks from all albums
‘Black Shades Over Red Eyes ‘provoking a massive clap along while ’Get Into It‘ and ‘Freckle And Burn‘ cause a shimmy dance and mosh frenzy. All tracks go down well with the crowd. It’s a room full of youthful exuberance and good tunes. They are a charismatic, mesmerising quartet on stage, each member managing to hold your attention and leave you gob smacked at the swagger and finesse this young band possess.
They brought a danceable fun atmosphere with humorous banter and solid energetic catchy tracks. Each track takes a heavy aggressive turn adding a bit of grit to the set and giving the crowd something to mosh to. Acting as the calm before the storm they deceive us with sunny holiday vibes. That is until DEATHBUS swarm in playing “some really stupid music really f***ing fast”. It’s a fierce growling set of heavy ear bleeding metal. What the lyrics are I couldn’t tell you, but it set the crowd alight in an insane fury of 
headbanging. There was hair swishing everywhere one guy was so entranced and heavily moshing I thought he was going to bash his head off the stage. Shrilling guitars with a neck snapping speed their set was brutal, blood thirsty and adrenaline pumping lunacy. The Dubtones follow with an equally energetic but less slaughterous set. With rock and roll hints and groovy rhythm they bring back a taste
of the boppy bubbly vibes causing a wiggle-like mosh dance among the crowd.Cracking pirate ship jokes and all “cos we arrr!” it’s an entertaining set. Brassy NYC punk band All Torn Up follow. Interacting directly with the crowd frontman Joey Steel jumps into the audience to mosh along with them before preaching about the wretched world and “backward pieces of sh*t”. His sweat 
flicking everywhere as the crowd laps up his enthusiasm. These guys have a demanding stage presence and relentless stamina as they jump shout and swear with compelling endurance. It’s a slick brisk set bursting with fiery attitude. The 
audience erupt into spasms of madness. Jumping pushing headbanging and just plain going crazy. Each track is a battering assault to the senses but an invigorating experience for sure. Punk mammoths Leftover Crack take over the stage like a kraken. With literally a bruising set, crowd members are bashing into each other throwing one another to the floor. There is a strange sense of comradery amongst these heavy moshers once they fall down they get picked up to be bashed to the floor again. Their rapturous set drives the crowd wild. These guys provide one of the most involving satisfying raw live sets I’ve experienced. They are musically airtight and enraged with brutally efficient riffs, pummeling drums and dynamic vocals that alternate between raspy roars and croons. Unfortunately much to my frustration my battery died before their set so I couldn’t take any pictures, but these guys are larger than life and put on a fantastic show.