“The packed out room really made it a night to remember.”
West Lothian band Mark Sharp & The Bicycle Thieves brought their Number 1 album to Edinburgh. Hundreds of their most dedicated fans flocked to the intimate Cabaret Voltaire venue in the Scottish capital to see the band’s debut album come to life before them.
Kerr Mercer
Solo artist Kerr Mercer began the talent-filled night with renditions of his own material. Before each of his songs, he told a quick story or anecdote about it. Doing this brought the crowd, most of whom were unfamiliar with his tracks, into the performance. Even without giving context to his songs, Kerr Mercer definitely brought the audience in. His powerful and soulful voice forced everyone to listen to his thought-provoking and often emotional words.
He made performing solo look effortless and had a smile on his face throughout. It was evident in this performance that live shows and songwriting are what Mercer is destined to do. It will be intriguing to see what he gets up to next and is absolutely a local talent to watch.
Attic Days
Edinburgh group Attic Days played one of their final shows as a band upon the Cab Vol stage. In another hometown set, the five-piece demonstrated their impressive individual talents and showed how those talents compiled together to create the incredible band that is Attic Days.
Despite some technical issues, the entire group portrayed a sense of maturity that some other acts would fail to show. With one of their microphones failing to work, their setlist had to be altered slightly until this was resolved. Without it impacting their time and presence on stage, singer Kirstie Maclean, and singer/guitarist Ruariadh Rattray switched between singing on each song. By quickly deciding on which songs wouldn’t require the additional microphone, bassist Murray Brown, guitarist Rory Bayne, and drummer Alfie Smith jumped to work with the two vocalists to still deliver an incredible set.
It was obvious that this shifted the journey of the performance, and I imagine it would be frustrating to have to change the order of songs you’d rehearsed and become accustomed to. However, with an additional microphone in working order again, the set moved back to how they’d planned. It was very impressive to see how sensibly they handled this situation, and they played each of their tracks with just as much enthusiasm as they always do. This included recent singles like ‘Trying To Please‘ and ‘Happy Sad‘ as well as the addictive 2022 track ‘After You‘.
Mark Sharp & The Bicycle Thieves
Headlining this night of terrific talent were Mark Sharp & The Bicycle Thieves. The West Lothian five-piece brought their chart-topping album to life in the intimate venue. Their newest and most dedicated fans came together for a set that created one of the best live atmospheres I’ve ever witnessed. Singer and rhythm guitarist Sharpy was joined by bassist Conor, drummer James, Darren on keys and trumpet, and lead guitarist Cammy to highlight the popularity of their debut album.
Popular tracks from their debut album “Unmask The Circus” were played to the enthusiastic audience including ‘Tippy Toes‘ which has collected over 141,000 streams since its release in August. Other popular songs from the album that made the setlist included ‘Sink or Swim‘ and ‘Last Dance‘.
Throughout the entire set, Mark Sharp & The Bicycle Thieves demonstrated exactly why their fanbase was so dedicated to their work. With a setlist that combined an accumulation of their fan favourites and lesser known tracks, they created a night full of celebration for the album. The packed out room really made it a night to remember, many people sang proudly along with their favourite tunes. The band are truly a credit to the local music scene, showing that music and live shows are for everyone, regardless of where you come from and what your background is.