BAD HOMBRES // KING TUT'S WAH WAH HUT, GLASGOW
Thursday 10th January brings me back to King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow for their New Year Festival and I’m reliably informed that tonight will be full on punk – old school, new school and everything in between. This sounds good!
BAD HOMBRES PERFORMING AT GLASGOW’S KING TUT’S WAH WAH HUT - 10.01.2019
PICTURE BY: JOHN BROWN PHOTOGRAPHY
★★★★☆
Tonight the headliners are Bad Hombres who are new to me but are making waves on the Glasgow music scene and beyond.
Knowing nothing of the headliners meant that Google was once again my friend (disclaimer – there are other search engines available). So, the internet tells me that Bad Hombres are a product of the dark underbelly of Glasgow and, indeed, from the depths of this dark underbelly... OK, this is sounding better still. I’m then further informed that they are a rock n roll 4 piece with heaps of swagger and a definite menacing streak (courtesy of Tenement TV). They are cutting their teeth on the Glasgow circuit with numerous live appearances under their collective belts.
We have dark underbelly, swagger and menacing; this sounds right up my street.
Influenced by many including Oasis, Kasabian and the Clash and having had a release produced by Kieran Webster of The View I am assured by fans of the band entering Tut’s that tonight is “gonna f****n rock!!”
Upstairs into the famous venue and there is a small crowd readying themselves for tonight’s openers Refuge Island and there is much tapping of feet to the sound of Depeche Mode playing over the PA system... only my favourite band being played prior to a night that is going to rock. Life is good at this point.
I had spoken to members of Refuge Island earlier in the night and found them to be very engaging with a wide knowledge of a variety of musical genres and styles. They have a new single coming out in February called Fighting in the Disco.
They played a set full of attitude, fast paced and in your face aggressive music but did it with a style that many old school punks and fans of Oasis would love. They are relatively new to the scene but I can see them gaining a following and a number of bookings.
Next up were Cats with Glasses.
A band young in years but with a confidence and stage presence that belies their lack of Earth time. They also seemed to have a small but vocal following. As much as I enjoyed their set and audience interaction I felt that they didn’t fit the bill as their Indie rock/pop style was at odds with the other bands on the bill. On a positive note they gave a few shout outs to members of other bands in the audience and it bodes well for the scene that the bands are supporting each other and keeping the scene alive.
Main support were Franky’s Evil Party... where to start with the Evil Party???
Guitar, bass, drums, synth and a King – yes, a King!! They kept it simple with a new punk rock style driven on by impressive drumming and a singer who was, how can I put it? Oh aye... MENTAL!!! I’m not sure if he was Franky or the Evil Party but he cuts an impressive figure and dominates the stage and the audience. He demands crowd interaction and, like a King, he gets what he demands.
Why the King patter? Well, the set contains a song where he basically shouts over and over that he is the King (he uses sweary words in this proclamation which I won’t reproduce here). Now, this sounds pretty repetative and boring but, strangely, it’s not. The crowd joined in with the shouts and then progressed to jumping about via a short visit to headbanging. It was a good sort of mental.
On side note to the madness. The band (minus the female guitarist) stripped to the waist and the singer had a tattoo on his stomach that, in Glasgow or Northern Ireland, might see him on the receiving end of some choice words or some violence. The venue management have asked that neither I nor The Modern Record share or print any photographs displaying the tattoo.
As the hour strikes 11pm it’s time for Bad Hombres.
There is a decent crowd now. Not nearly full but decent for 11pm on a Thursday night. The top half of the hall is cordoned off which has the desired effect of creating a heaving crowd which, in turn, helps the atmosphere. Always a good thing.
The smoke machine appears to go into overdrive and the band make their way on stage minus a lead singer... there appears to be something afoot. Having listened to their music on the internet I get the feeling that whatever is about to go down will have a political message of some sort and, at that, President Donald Trump bounds onto the stage – obviously not THE Donald Trump, star of Twitterdom but the aforementioned singer in a mask with the face and hair of the wall builder who spawned the name of the headline band. This brought cheers (or was it jeers?) from the crowd and the scene had been set.
The Bad Hombres immediately kicked into Punk tinged Indie rock mode and demanded that the crowd played their part; they duly obliged. Their style for the night was one of powerful drums that pushed along some impressive bass work. The guitars and vocals did their thing and made for a very full and accomplished sound that a band so inexperienced can be proud of.
Sure, there was a very overt political message throughout the set with songs like Theresa on the Guillotine and a t-shirt with a message about Brexit thereon but it never delved into Billy Bragg territory and the audience were left to decide for themselves whether to put Theresa on a guillotine or just go for another drink.
Due to set being a festival set it was obviously shorter than a normal headline slot but the negative side of that is countered by the fact that Bad Hombres left the audience, and me, wanting to hear more. I see no reason why Bad Hombres shouldn’t continue to make their mark on the UK scene and hopefully in the not too distant future I can review them at a bigger venue or a full Tut’s.
Such was the reluctance of the crowd to leave I was unable to obtain a set list for the review but it’s safe to say that I didn't hear a weak song in the set.
I enjoyed all the bands. My favourite act of the evening was Refuge Island but only because their style reminded me of my youth as a New Wave or latter day punk. All the bands put on a show and can surely find themselves climbing the ladder of Glasgow music scene and beyond.