The Roly Mo make a raucous return to live performance at King Tuts Summer Nights 2021
It’s been a long year and a half since venues across the country were forced to close their doors due to the pandemic, but after numerous lockdowns, countless rescheduled gigs and months of uncertainty live music is finally back!
It felt surreal walking into King Tuts on a Friday night for the first time in what felt like forever. The sold-out venue was buzzing with brilliant energy even before any of the bands performed. Unfortunately, prior to the show Book Klub announced they had to pull out from the line-up due to current self-isolation rules; but we still had the pleasure of attending three brilliant sets from some of Scotland’s most exciting new bands.
Dundee duo School Of Paris kicked things off at 9pm with an atmospheric set including a brilliant performance of their brand new single ‘I’ll Never Know’. Opening a gig is a tough spot, but the post-punk pair warmed up the crowd with ease as they delivered a laid-back Joy Division-esque sound and were a pleasure to watch.
At 9:45pm SLIX graced the stage. The Greater Glasgow punk five-piece opened with massive 2021 single ‘Waster’, followed by last year’s ‘2X’, both of which got a great reception from the crowd proving to be fan-favourites. Their set featured 4 brand new tunes; ‘Maga’, ‘Blank Canvas’, ‘Heavy One’, and ‘Harveys Song’, all taken from their upcoming debut EP which they’ve just finished recording. The highlight of their set was a brilliant cover of ‘Take On Me’ by a-ha, as well as perfect performances of their originals ‘Mindless’ and ‘Chongawongabonged’; all clever lyrics, distorted guitar and catchy hooks, it’s easy to see that these boys are going places, they have heaps of talent and passion and we honestly can’t wait to see what this year holds for them. Bring on the EP!
At 10:30pm The Roly Mo swaggered onstage to ‘That’s The Way’ by KC and The Sunshine band. After a quick “Glasgow, it’s good to be back man” from frontman Joe Morton the fourpiece jumped straight into a stellar performance of ‘Control Yourself’, an upbeat track featuring Strokes-esque guitar melodies. It was followed by the strikingly confident ‘Diamond Doll’ which is driven by drums and an infectious bassline and complimented with crunchy electric rhythm guitar. Both tracks are taken from the quartets debut EP ‘TRM’ which was unleashed last year, it felt class to finally be able to see them live.
The set also saw the boys play a handful of brand-new unreleased tracks; ‘By Your Side’, ‘Neon Glitch’, ‘Dreaming’, ‘Pull A Gun On Me’, and ‘Sunday’ all of which are taken from the bands upcoming EP and they all sounded huge. Noisy punk offering ‘She’s So Hot’ came in hard and fast as did the gritty, attitude-laden ‘Stuck In A Rut’, followed by the strident and formidable ‘Fooled By You’.
Next up was an iconic singalong cover of Lady Gaga’s ‘Bad Romance’ which proves to be a highlight at every TRM gig. The energy from both band and crowd remained unmatched from ‘Cuttin About’ through to ‘Count To Ten’, which especially showcased Joe’s effortlessly smooth vocals, before smoothly transitioning into a cover of Mr. Postman. What a band.
As the set drew to a close, we got to hear the anthemic ‘I Miss The Dancing’ live for the first time, and despite only being released a week prior the crowd sang along to every word. Finally, fan favourite classic ‘I’ll Be Hapy When You Die’ closed the set with unbelievable energy, heavy riffs and a catchy chorus. They are a band at the top of their game, polished over the course of lockdown and ready to take the live scene by storm again.
Temporary hearing damage aside, it felt great to be back watching live music again. It was an immense night and an unbelievable first gig back. Keep an eye out for new music from School of Paris, SLIX and The Roly Mo coming soon!
