Credit: Angelo De Carvalho
Writer
Local boys The Plastic Youth provide whimsical indie-pop at their Tut’s headline gig.
Having never been to King Tuts before, I was exhilarated about going due to its iconic status – massive names like Coldplay, Oasis and Mumford & Sons have all graced this stage back. The close proximity to the stage at Tut’s reminded me of being in front of the barrier at TRNSMT festival watching Liam Gallagher in the flesh. However, this was nothing compared to the glorious intimacy of King Tut’s, allowing me to be fully engaged with the band.
As the audience started to spill in from bar to stage you could tell that anticipation was growing for the bands. Indie band Victoria Sponge were first to the stage. Their vocalist enlivened the crowd with an abundance of energy, with electrifying guitar riffs reminiscent of Franz Ferdinand. My personal highlight was their track Talk about Tonight which garnered the most positive audience response in general.
Next up was ambient rock four-piece Fauna who didn’t disappoint. Their style being sprinkled with apparent soul influences. Their rhythms were cleverly mixed, and vocalist Joanne “Anny” Tahaney really gave it her all with impressive vocal dexterity and hypnotic hand movements, which were particularly present when they performed their single Breathe. The performance was simply spellbinding, with superbly crafted lyrics accompanying the music. They would have given Florence and The Machine a run for their money.
Finally The Plastic Youth took to the stage, a band self-styled as “indie/jangle-pop, infusing a backdrop of shiny guitar tones with sugary, infectious melodies – to create something special”. They certainly created something special here – you could tell they were putting their heart and soul into the performance. This was shown especially in their drummer Nic Sharp, who was extremely invested in making a unique sound – particuarly clear when they performed their first single Sweet Dreamer. Their style is most akin to that of Mac DeMarco, with their jangly guitar trills creating a hypnotic style similar to that of DeMarco’s Freaking Out The Neighbourhood.
The bands all gave outstanding performances, which made an enjoyable night for myself and the other audience members. Give it a few years time, and these bands might too be emblazoned on the King Tut’s steps.
