D.I.Y. promoters in Aberdeen have recently been doing a stellar job of showcasing local talent, as well as bringing bands from afar to our stages. This weekend was no different. I took myself to Drummonds in Aberdeen for the first night of House Proud / TigerDrive Weekender with dates also in Edinburgh and Middlesborough. All My Friends brought together different facets of rock genres to provide an entertaining night for all music fans.
Modern History opened the evening bringing humour and pop punk gold to the city. With clear influences of blink-182, Modern History gave a fun performance full of tuneful tracks and endearing stage patter, including a tribute to the late great Bill Odie. As a fan of classic 2000s pop punk, it was refreshing to see this genre done well in the local area Their new single We Can Longer It, Guys! is now available to stream. There’s also a sweet set of artist playlist citing all their individual influences and music they enjoy on their Spotify profile.
House Proud were next on the bill. They were our touring band of the evening all the way from North East England and sharing this weekend of gigs with TigerDrive. The post-punk visitors performed an enduring set of fierce and intense tracks which hit you like a freight train – in a good way! They’ve gained at least one new fan with their trip to Aberdeen and I can confirm they’ve managed to successfully capture their whirlwind live performance style in their recorded output.
TigerDrive have been gaining quite the following on the local scene and tonight was solid proof of this. They stunned with a no-holds-barred run of alt-emo tracks accompanied by audience participation, moshing and crowd adulation throughout. Having seen them earlier in the year, it was satisfying seeing their live performance evolve and tighten up since then. New singles Girlfriend Lobotomy and Freakspurt Henry are definitely worth a listen!
Palejoy were our headliners of the night. Your favourite emo sad boys delivered a set full of classic tracks as well as the debut of a freshly written song with the most hypnotic riff. The Palejoy disposable camera made its way through the crowd (a set tradition) as audience members captured shots of both the band and themselves to commemorate the evening. The set of course ended in the crowd with the final chord of the night delivered by Dale Sutherland flat out on the floor. You cannot deny that these lads give absolutely everything to their live performance – commitment of the highest form.
Overall, I had another fantastic night out with music both local and from further afield. Long live D.I.Y. promoters, keeping live music alive and interesting in the city!
Enjoy songs from each band in the playlist below!