Nearing the end of their Sychophant Tour, Glasgow’s Anchor Lane played their second last date in Aberdeen’s Krakatoa
The lively gig saw performances from Aberdeen local bands The Trauma and The Gaslight Project while the night was headlined by Anchor Lane. This may not have been the busiest gig I’ve seen at Krakatoa as people steadily trickled into the bar venue, but everyone who came in appeared to be hooked by the talents of these three bands.
The Trauma warmed up the room with their signature personal and emotive lyrical style with vibrant rock and pop melodies. I’ve seen these guys probably more times than I can count now but they never disappoint, every song they deliver is catchy on the surface while having these deep undertones that people can relate to.
The trio on stage performed what was basically their standard set complete with fan favourites ‘Say It Again’ and ‘Reminisce’, these ones always get people moving and singing along.
The band also gave us a couple of covers, Johnny Cash’s ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ which was joked by the front man to have become a staple part of their set, and they Rick Rolled us all with Rick Astley’s ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’. Both covers went down a treat with the alt-rockers adding their own spin on the classics, especially ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ which after seeing them play it a few times I feel like they have entirely made the track their own, fueling it with the bright and explosive guitars they should be known for. I always leave watching The Trauma smiling and this time was no different, their exuberant energy is infectious.
Second on the bill was heavy rock/pop punk locals The Gaslight Project. As the group took the stage I saw the room fill with people eager to watch their show. As their songs began to ring through the venue, I began to see why this band have been becoming so popular, their classic punk style spliced with big modern sounding riffs and melodies will effortlessly capture people’s attention.
While I can’t actually name any of the songs they played I can say there was a great mix of in your face punk energy from some while they displayed pretty powerful heavy rock sounds from others. For me, instrumentally I really think these guys are nailing it while vocally they maybe weren’t my favourite I think the catchy simplicity of the lyrics makes up for that. When you’re getting lost in a song and singing along, much like the fans down the front it doesn’t matter so much if everything on stage sounds perfect.
The Gaslight Project clearly know what they’re doing when it comes to songwriting, and I thought this was especially true with the last original they closed with which was instantly stuck in my head.
It was mentioned that they may be working on a debut EP so if you can’t get to a show and want a chance to hear their big sound keep your eyes peeled for that.
Closing the night, we had in my opinion one of the best rock bands to come out of Scotland recently, Anchor Lane. Their modern rock, bouncy, big riff sound creates an electric atmosphere in any venue, big or small. Again, this is a band I’ve had the opportunity to check out many times before and I swear every time I see them, they somehow bring more energy to the stage. Front man Conor is always moving around clearly just as into his music as the fans who he is eager to interact with.
After the departure of their previous guitarist the very talented Connor Trail filled in and you would think he had been in the band the whole time.
The rockers played mainly songs off of their most recent album ‘’Call This A Reality?’ but they also threw in a few from their debut ‘Casino’ for the older fans in the crowd. Yet, no matter what songs they were playing I could clearly see so many people singing along to every word and just vibing of off Anchor Lane’s irresistible energy. Whether it was an upbeat one like ‘Call This A Reality?’ or a more emotion driven track like ‘Nitroglycerin’ I found myself completely invested in their show.
Anchor Lane are a band who seem to so easily make the stage their own and I wish I could bottle the energy they bring. It’s no wonder they are becoming as popular as they are, I can’t recommend checking out their live show enough.
If I had to sum up the night I would say that this bill took three of the most vibrant bands in the Scottish scene and left us with a show that had people smiling all throughout, whether they were sat at the bar or down the front everyone had their eyes on the stage all night.