East Meets West


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Carling East Meets West
Glasgow heat

Tonight was suppose to have been bound for a night of musical prowess and talent. Instead we got the same old, same old - yes that's right... the band with the most tickets sold for the event tonight at the Barrowlands would progress to the final in Edinburgh next month. No matter how bollock-droppingly good you were unless you get all your friends to buy a ticket to come along, you had no chance of progressing. But then, no pay, no play.
Anyway enough of my corporate bickering, to the music. The first of the seven bands playing tonight were The Scruffs - a 5-piece from Barrhead who look young enough to fear Hearts manager Graham Rix.
Incidentally they sound older than they look, with stadium filling 70's rock riffs beaten out by a statuesque, baby-faced slash. EHHHHHPWWAAAAWAWA goes the guitar during opener 'Set Me Free', a homage to Led Zeppelin rawk. This is kind of ruined by the singer's goofy dancing - think a more camp Ian Curtis and you have nailed it. If Geek rock was fucked in the head with an axe and injected with heroin you would get The Scuffs. Just wait till they finish school, this is a band to look out for.
Up next was All My Logic, a band used to playing battle of the bands having battled their way through to play the T-break stage at T in the park earlier in the year. The 3-piece from Ayrshire are a more melodic Biffy Clyro but with a singer who looks like Charlie Simpson out of Fightstar, which is apparently a good thing - according to the blonde standing beside me, "Cos he is fooking hott man". Looks aside they are actually a decent band, and they really should have been one of the bands to have gone through to the final - obviously they didn't bring tractors full of people up from Ayrshire for support.
If you like your rock bands to look like they come from the 70's but sound like thee olde britpop 90's then the Skint Flints are for you. They are infectious pop at its most lethal brain numbingly best, with choruses of "Tra La La" and "Sha la la's" it makes 'Mmbop' seem less annoying. That said they do get a whole crowd chanting along - even the Goth kids in the darkened corner of the room. Even on my way home I could still hear the echoes of it run circles in my head. A good pop band but nothing too special, although they would make a great support band on the take that reunion gig - the singer sounds the double of Take That reject Robbie Williams.
Old Fidel himself would be disappointed at the 4th band on tonight for (A) being named Castro and (B) because they are very conformist - they sound like every other rock band. However, saying that jet have done well for themselves.But they did have the biggest crowd of the night, which meant it was easy sailing for these boys into the next round - obviously the judges either liked crap 'samey' indie bands or they liked the sound of money in the till.
However, the next band on were near polar opposite from just being an indie-schmindie, run of the mill band. Pylot are in fact RAWWWWWWKK!!!
They are a heavy metal band in its true form - ear-bashing guitars,chest crushing base, ear bleeding howls and of course a prick of a front-man. The yelps and squeals made for uneasy listening but the sheer volume and power of the rest of the band made up for it and led pilot into the final in Edinburgh, where am sure they will, “FAWWKING RAWKKK YEAHHH”.
Up next were the D-Karts - they played, sounded like the Bee Gees with some bongos, and left. Yawwwn. But luckily for this slowly fatiguing crowd, the last band up were the best by miles. Kobai easily brushed by the other contenders in this battle of the bands after just one song. They were tight and confident - playing only 4 songs to impress the judges. The sound like early 90's dance music getting a broken old guitar shoved down its throat. Kobai are definitely ones to watch.
So there we had it our four finalists from the west - Kobai, Skint Flints, Castro and Pylot. Judges may or may not have been swayed by the money (surely "talent"? - Ed); however, in my eyes/ears All My Logic should have gone through too. But hey, maybe I'm wrong.
(Jamie Crossan)