SAINT RAYMOND // KING TUT'S WAH WAH HUT, GLASGOW
Saint Raymond returns to Glasgow after four years for an intimate show at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut as part of his UK Tour
SAINT RAYMOND PERFORMING AT GLASGOW’S KING TUT’S WAH WAH HUT - 17.11.2018
PICTURE BY: ALAN WHITFIELD PHOTOGRAPHY
★★★★☆
Support tonight comes from Casey Lowry who describes himself as “Trop Pop”. It’s a strange genre to slot yourself into and I don’t really know if it will alienate or confuse some of the people here tonight. It doesn’t feel like there is much of a market for Tropical rooted music in Glasgow, especially in November but thankfully when Casey took the stage I could hear little evidence of the touted tropic sub-genre.
They are definitely good songs in this set and musically they are tight as a band. For me the lyrics might be a little naive and clumsy but he is 19 and has plenty time to grow given the chance. I enjoyed what I heard and his enthusiasm and personality won a few people over tonight. Myself included.
The best song was Trampoline, written when Casey was only 14 and it’s a decent pop song. I imagine after a few listens it would be stuck in your head and you’d be singing “so come and bounce on my little trampoline, we might make a curry we might make some tea”. The problem is nobody really wants to sing that! As strong as the melody is it’s not really the kind of mantra that turns a chorus into an anthem.
I think if you were to listen to the album after catching them live you might be a little disappointed as the energy doesn’t really translate onto the record. Its a shame and I’m not sure if the “California Brunch Pop” production has taken its toll.
Without the rough edges it runs the danger of becoming pedestrian background music and the overall direction feels muddled. It’s a bit like they’re trying too hard to carve out their own little genre of Tropical Pop without understanding what it’s going to sound like when you’re from Chesterfield.
The performance was engaging and there’s some real talent on display. As a live performance goes it would be difficult to find too many faults.
Named after the street singer songwriter, Callum Burrows, grew up and his grandfather, Nottingham based Saint Raymond is the headliner tonight. He provides a Mumford and Sons blend of indie rock with perhaps the all too familiar pop sensibilities of Ed Sheeran.
He has enthusiastic confidence about him and the venues size helps create a great atmosphere as he opens the set with a rousing rendition of “Young Blood”. It’s probably one of their strongest tracks, and has enough of a hook to immediately resonate with me. Whilst it is a good song I find it difficult to believe DJ, Zane Low, genuinely believed it was the “Hottest Record in The World”. Even though the charts were a fairly tired place in February 2014 there were definitely other contender for that title, none the less it did give Saint Raymond a platform to build on.
As a live band their tracks take on a bit more life and definitely have more grit and punch than the recordings which, for me, tend to suffer from an over polished and overcrowded production.
“Movie In My Mind” was another stand out track which proves there are some strong songs in his back catalogue and perhaps he does deserve to be bothering the charts more often.
It’s always good to see bands enjoying what they do and the crowd embracing that energy which was at times infectious. There were definitely great moments but there were also times where it felt too formuliac and some of it just washed over me. I want more from a live performance and I expect the band to be able to keep my focus on them.
As a show goes it was’’t bad, not bad at all. It’s just not the Indie Rock for me.
SETLIST: | SAINT RAYMOND : KING TUT’S WAH WAH HUT, GLASGOW - 17.11.2018
Young Blood
Everything She Wants
Younger
I Want You
Echo
Dancing
Nightcrawling
Wild Heart
Carried Away
Come Back To You
Fall At Your Feet
ENCORE:
As We Are Now - (Solo)
Movie In My Mind - (Solo)
Bonfires
Ghosts