LUNA THE PROFESSOR // KING TUT'S WAH WAH HUT, GLASGOW
My first shoot and review for The Modern Record finds me going to an old haunt from the years of my youth - the famous King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow.
LUNA THE PROFESSOR PERFORMING AT GLASGOW’S KING TUT’S WAH WAH HUT - 03.01.2019
PICTURE BY: JOHN BROWN PHOTOGRAPHY @MATRIXPHOTOGRAPHY
★★★★☆ (4.5/5)
My first shoot and review for The Modern Record finds me going to an old haunt from the years of my youth - the famous King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow.
Tonight the 300 capacity venue is sold out for a headline show by the up and coming Luna the Professor; an indie rock quartet from Wishy (or Wishaw for those not from that neck of the woods).
Luna were formed in March of 2015 and are slowly climbing the indie rock ladder and, considering there are so many like sounding bands, are doing well to catch the ears of a growing number of fans and influential music types.
According to Ross (guitar) the band name stems from his mum and his cat. His cat is called Luna and his mum is a scientist (or professor). I’m not sure how true that is but it sounds good so lets go with it for now! They cite such luminaries as Coldplay, Oasis, Arctic Monkeys and the Strokes as their influences but claim to have that ‘something else’ that no other band has - that is some company to be in and a bold claim…
Coming from a background of electronic, EBM and Industrial music my knowledge of the headliners was the square root of nothing so I ventured onto the internet to do a bit of research. Sadly, the online presence of Luna is very limited and I would have to go to the gig almost completely in the dark - this is probably a good thing in hindsight; no preconceived ideas. As it happened, there were a number of photographers and people taking pro quality video so hopefully this will address the online presence of Luna.
So… into Tut’s and on entering my ears were treated to Echo & the Bunnymen. A great start to the night. The downstairs / bar was filling up with 14 to 20 year old’s and a smattering of adult chaperones already regretting the decision to come along!! I’m sure I caught an eye or two of pleading adults… “What have I volunteered for ?” was the look on many of their faces.
Upstairs and into the venue and its not long before the first band take to the stage. The Allies were an indie rock band who mostly covered bands like the Fratellis and Oasis. They were young, energetic and went down well with the crowd of energetic teens that made up the majority of the audience. This, as it turned out, was the final gig played by the Allies. A final gig that had to be stopped by the stage manager putting up the house lights as the band had played beyond their allotted time.
Main support band - Lights in the City - strode confidently onto stage and immediately went into indie rock caricature mode. Loads of loud guitars through loads of effects pedals; shouty vocals and more swearing than seemed necessary - maybe its just my age! They warmed up the crowd in the way a main support should and even had mosh pit of sorts going. I enjoyed the slower paced songs as the actual instruments could be heard and their song structures stood out.
It was almost time for Luna and it was evident that some fans has stayed out of the venue for the two support bands as the numbers swelled noticeably and the high pitched chatter of what seemed like a million teenage voices grew and grew… thank you to the designer of frequency filtering ear plugs!!
The house lights went down, the lighting rig kicked into play and ……………….. the Venga Boys came hurtling through the PA system!!! This sent the already frenzied teenage crowd into over drive and the scene was set.
The ovation for the band entering the stage was impressive and matched the swagger of the band members. If you cant swagger at your sell out gig when can you swagger?
Luna proceeded to put on a very accomplished set that, to me at least, had many elements taken from the bands they cite as being influential; there was also some Interpol or Editors flying around in their mix.
Each band member seemed to be accomplished in their individual art and together it was a great sum of the parts. There was much communal singing and chanting from the crowd and when Johnny - vocalist - commanded the young fans to join in they did so with much energy and enthusiasm.
Mid show brought a stripped down acoustic number from Johnny and the rest of the band members left the stage to allow this change of pace and sound. I’m not sure that it worked considering the very short set they played but its not my opinion that counts. The audience were, for the most part, suitably quiet and the end of the song was met with rapturous applause and cheering.
The rest of the band came back on stage and, for a short time at least, the full sound was re-established and the teenage bedlam resumed on the floor with more attempts at moshing and displays of adulation for the band.
The full on sound was back with us and not a beat was missed. LtP looked as though they were loving it; and so they should.
All too soon the 7 song set was over - seven songs when we all wanted more!
Despite Luna being headliners tonight the actual event was part of the KTNYR Festival organised by King Tut’s and the set length was predetermined by the venue. This was a great shame as the band were riding a wave, supplied by the pumped up crowd, and just as they reached the crest it was time to stop.
The band thanked everyone for coming and left the stage to shouts of “one more song” but, sadly for the demanding crowd, another song was not forthcoming and the house lights came up.
I’m not usually drawn to this genre of music and, having no previous knowledge of Luna, it afforded me the opportunity to give an unbiased and objective review of the sold out gig.
I actually enjoyed the other bands. Probably more to do with the energy they shared with the crowd than the music but that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the music; I did. I enjoyed to such an extent that I would have liked to hear a few more songs from the headliners.
The shortness of the set Luna was a pity as they seemed to be on it and with the crowd carrying them along it seemed they could do no wrong. I’m positive that, given the size of the crowd and the great atmosphere, the management at Tut’s will want Luna the Professor back sooner rather than later.
So, in short… a great night all round and a 4.5 out of 5 from me.
I’m already looking forward to seeing Luna again in the near future!
SETLIST: | LUNA THE PROFESSOR : KING TUT’S WAH WAH HUT, GLASGOW - 03.01.2019
No Time
You
Signals
Alone
Divide
Hometown
Dreamers