After a long 18 months of no gigs, it was an amazing feeling to hear live music again! The Dunts at a sold-out Oran Mor was the perfect gig to head along to on a Wednesday night after work. With support from The Noise Club and Dirty Mike this was a gig that will live long in the memory.
First to take to the stage was The Noise Club. Now I must confess, prior to the gig I hadn’t heard of them but from now on I will be keeping an eye out for them at any up coming gigs. As the lead singer announced on stage during their set that this was their first live gig, you wouldn’t be able to tell. With great energy and a togetherness that most established bands would be desperate for. Kicking off their debut set with “Pink Order”, the band then went on to perform a very catchy cover of “Better Off Alone” that the good sized crowd that came down early seemed to really enjoy. Finishing off with “Strokes”. Finishing off with “Johnstone Boys”, the band got the great reception that they deserved when they finished and showed why they were a great choice to open the night.
Next up were Dirty Mike. Again, I need to admit that just like The Noise Club, my knowledge of them was very minimal but this is always exciting for me as hearing a band live without any previous listening means if they can sound great live then their recorded stuff will be great too. Kicking off their set with “Pilot”, from early on the band really reminded me of early days Green Day which isn’t a comparison I don’t make lightly. Their set might have been 9 songs long but their set up felt like it went very quickly, which is always an indication that I’ve enjoyed it. Rounding off their set with “Latina” the large capacity crowd loved it and was a brilliant warm up for The Dunts to come on next.
Finally the main event and the band everyone was buzzing to see, The Dunts. From the second the band entered the stage, the crowd were going wild and the energy between the band and the crowd really emphasised how much live music has been missed from peoples lives. The past 18 months have been a long slog but this night was the light at the end of the tunnel for the capacity crowd that turned out for this. This hour long set felt like a “best of” of The Dunts, packed with crowd favourites such as “Marilyn” and “Bad Decisions”. Having not released any new music for over a year now, the band did tease a new song, much slower than the usually 100 miles an hour type of sound that The Dunts are known for but sounded excellent and the crowd reacted well to it also. No Dunts gig is complete without hearing their now famous cover of “Hey Ya” which is a personal favourite of mine. Overall a brilliant set from one of Glasgow’s favourite bands in what was the hottest gig I’ve been at.