I knew this was going to be a good gig night even it was just because of our crowd alone. A studded A-list of Antic-ers were out; the complete Kids In The Kitchen line up (our 80s flat/band/friends-since-teens gang) of Slash Vaseline (guitar), Captain Craig (bass) and Uncle Deek (drums) - imagine a Quentin Tarantino re-make of The Young Ones, that was us. Chaos, hilarity, scrapes and blood. Lots of blood. Mrs Gig-Antics came along too and also great punk pals of ours (who are all massive Bar Stool Preachers fans), Sam, Maw, Les and the “Auld Young” yin & young Mrs “Auld Young” yin (it makes sense to me at least). Between us I think there must be at least 400 years of gig-going clocked up, so it’s safe to say we know a good gig when one comes round, hence the full turn out.
Continuing the unofficial “Brighton bands in Edinburgh week” theme (my 3rd in 4 days; Indie, Metal/Rock and Punk – the “holy trinity” all covered), the Bar Stool Preachers are no strangers to the city having played here twice recently, supporting The Levellers last year (who I was told they upstaged from their 2nd on the bill slot) and also across from this venue at Bannerman’s, which they're far too big a band to be playing in the first place. I know the bands music, but I will admit this was my first time seeing them and I was told by almost everyone, this would be a revelation for me. Their fans, including those I spoke to after the gig (shout out to Joe!), are pretty evangelical about the band and after a ninety-minute set, I can see why.
The reception the band got from the crowd coming on stage was like a home-coming and from what I could see from our spot near the back, everyone who was there was 100% committed to making the night as special as it could be. From audience participation on almost every song (singer Tom McFaull waving his mic regularly out to the crowd to lead the vocals), to the band expressing their love of the Edinburgh crowd and city visits (although – and I might be wrong – I thought I heard him shout “Glasgooow!” at one point in the middle of the set) this was an upbeat love in with a punk/ska/rock twist.
Their sound carries a lot of punk energy (I was told singer McFaull is son of punk legends’ Cock Sparrer's Colin McFaull, which makes sense) and I like how they slip through styles from punk, to ska, to Noughties high-energy American rock-esque sounds from song to song, showing their wide range of ability and versatility. No surprise that with such energy from band and fans, the place was an oven before too long and I did see one auld punk come out of the main body of the crowd to have his bald head dabbed by his partner with a tissue to soak some of the sweat up!
Their tunes are like anthems – fans rarely missing a line, singing along constantly throughout the set and the level goes up with every song. The band feed off the crowd and the crowd feed off the band raising it every time in a cycle all throughout. By the end of the gig the crowd were still buzzing and the band seemed to have enjoyed themselves too. I managed to get a quick chat with a couple of the group when blagging a set list for superfan Sam (lovely fellas) and noticed that they have a ‘request a show’ link on their site next to their tour dates, a great way to get direct feedback (the feedback being; more shows here, now!). Link clicked.
For a Saturday night out this gig was the perfect soundtrack and post-show beers and blethers were almost all about the gig/band/songs/setlist/how good were they!? – so much so that there ended up longer chat about the gig than the actual gig.
Excellent band, go see them. Preach!
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