What an incredible line up for the first Indian Summer festival of the year! The festival was held at the south side nightclub and music venue, The Shed which spreads over two floors. The line up consisted of some of the biggest upcoming Scottish bands including The Nickajack Men, Shambolics, Vida and The View frontman, Kyle Falconer. The bands all had their own unique sound creating a variety of musical talent throughout the night.
The Nickajack Men
If you’ve read my previous articles about this band, you’ll know my love for them! They’re probably the first band I discovered whilst writing for DM and I just can’t wait till they get the recognition they deserve. With a new album on the horizon, the band treated the crowd to a lot of new material which certainly went down well! Making me even more excited for the release date! If you haven’t listened to them before, they’ve got this rock n roll country style - a style you won’t hear a lot of in our generation of the Scottish music scene. Their music just instantly makes you want to get up and dance. That sort of music that puts you in a feel good mood. Imagine being able to write that kind of music that just makes people smile - half the battle of being in a band is being able to connect with the crowd but The Nickajack Men’s music does that so naturally. Take my friend, Iona for instance - I brought her along as my plus one for the night and although she’d never listened to them before that half an hour set was her highlight of the entire night! This was my fourth time seeing them this year and I’m already counting down the days till I see them perform again.
Shambolics
After The Nickajack Men’s set, we moved to the main room to catch four piece indie band, Shambolics. After recently signing with Creation 23 records, the band have had some year! This was my first time seeing them live and I was really impressed with their performance. They played a lot of songs I hadn’t heard before but I was instantly drawn in. They’ve got two songs that as soon as I heard them I knew they’d be a hit - ‘Chasing a Disaster’ and ‘When She Goes Home’ and seeing them live just confirmed that. The lyrics within both songs are gripping, exciting and beautifully written! Nevertheless, after Friday’s set, the band’s other music is just as good, with the same quality performed on stage. You can tell there’s a lot of influence from indie bands such as The View, The enemy and Fratellis. This is just the start for Shambolics and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for them.
Vida
Next up was Alloa’s indie alternative band, Vida. The band brought a strong support which totally made the atmosphere. The huge crowd is definitely a reflection of Vida’s talent. They remind me a lot 90s indie bands such as Oasis, Charlatans and The Verve. They’re a great live band due to the fact every song inevitably ends in one big singalong which I can imagine is something most bands want to achieve in a live set. Songs like ‘Fade Away’, ‘Place Where We Can Forget’ and ‘Where We Came From’ just automatically have you singing along. They’re the type of songs you’d expect from supergroups such as Oasis, Stone Roses etc so you can imagine the quality on stage when Vida perform them. My highlight from their set however was when they played their latest single, ‘When The Sun’. We premiered this single last week on DM and ever since I’ve had it on repeat. I’m a sucker for a good love song and I totally fell in love with the song at first instance. It’s all about falling in love with someone for the first time and knowing that person is going to be the one. I’m yet to experience love like this however, the song still feels relatable and seeing it live just make me fall in love with it even more. You can feel the emotion on stage when lead singer, Jamie sings the lyrics and it’s a really lovely thing to witness. If you haven’t listened to them before, I really recommend you do!
Kyle Falconer
After seeing his set at Kendal Calling, I couldn’t wait to see Kyle Falconer perform again. He’s just got this natural energy on stage which draws all eyes to him. His solo album was released just over a year ago and I still have it on repeat. He addresses a lot of real topics in his music such as alcohol abuse and relationship problems in which a lot of people can relate to. Making fans really appreciate the truth in his music. One song in particular, ‘Family Tree’ relates to giving up alcohol for the sake of the family: ‘Cause I’m working on me and the family - I’m growing up you see. I’m putting bottles of whisky and vodka behind me - I’m working on the family tree’.
I’ve seen that song live twice in the last month and it totally just unites the crowd. Although, Kyle is probably most known for being frontman of Dundee indie rock band, The View, his solo stuff really highlights his talent with not only song writing but as a musician in general. Of course, The View classics always go down well but I love the fact he plays songs like, 'Witches', 'How Long' and 'Houses of Queue's' - songs which a lot of real fans will appreciate! He also played one of my favourites, 'Bunker (Solid Ground)'. It's the type of song when you hear it for the first time, you know it certainly won't be the last.
The lyrics, 'I'll stay with you cause I know how to keep my feet on solid ground' are catchy and always has the crowd singing along in unison. The song just makes puts me in my happy place and seeing it live for the second time was incredible. The set overall was insane - amazing to see so many people in the once place singing along and creating an unforgettable atmosphere!
Links
Kyle Falconer
Vida
Shambolics
The Nickajack Men
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