Last week saw the debut UK shows by the US band Tapes 'n' Tapes. Their CD, The Loon, pressed themselves and sold via their website, has become the latest US indie sensation - much in the manner of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah before them. It was with slight trepidation that I joined this particular bandwagon, since I found the Clap Your Hands... record a bit underwhelming, and their live show a very soulless and character-free affair.
Over the last few weeks, though, The Loon has been a permanent fixture on the CD and iPod. It's a very varied album, and goes through a variety of styles - but theyr're all styles I approve of, and the songs are really strong. It takes a bit of time, but it's certainly worth it. So I looked forward to seeing if their supposedly fierce live reputation would stand up.
On the evidece of their London show the verdict was 'promising but watch this space'. Playing in the intimate basement club The Metro meant we got to see them at close range, but there were two problems. It was the band's first UK show and they seemed tired and nervous, taking a while to kick in. Also, the problem with an intimate basement venue is you can't escape from the journalist, geust list and all round wanker types who either talk through the entire show or stand their waiting for some miracle of live performance to break their questioning passivity towards the act. As I say, promising.
On Wednesday the Tapes bandwagon was scheduled to hit Glasgow. I happened to be back in Glasgow then, and it happened to be my niece Hannah's 18th birthday. Hannah has become disturbingly similar to her uncle in the last couple of years or so when it comes to all things musical, and this year so far has been my gig-going partner to a series of shows that she has totally loved (particularly Secret Machines and Flaming Lips). As she had no plans for celebrating the big '18th' event, I suggested we go and see Tapes 'n' Tapes. What I hadn't told her was I had mailed the band's website asking if they could in some way acknowledge the event and they'd mailed back to say they would "certainly try and remember to do something".
We got into the venue - Nice & Sleazy - which I've never been to before. It's more basement and more intimate than even The Metro. Essentially it's a converted cellar, with an unfortunate pillar right in front of the stage. It's almost possible to touch the ceiling without stretching. But we got close to the front and found a spot where the band would be largely visible and pretty soon they were on.
After their first two, almost 'warm-up' tracks frontman Josh Grier announced that before they continue they want to acknowledge a birthday in the audience. He then encouraged the entire crowd to chant "Happy Bithday Hannah" before going into the standout track from their album, Insister. After that (and I know I am going to sound biased here) Tapes 'n' Tapes ripped the joint with an intense, tight, thrilling performance. It might only have been another half an hour or so but it was totally magnificent. And the Glasgow audience responded in such a dramatically different way to London, as if they knew they were watching something really special. We even managed to persuade them to come back for an encore - something I know the band almost never do.
Afterwards they sold their CD from the front of the stage, and I managed to thank the guys for being so kind, and Hannah got a CD and a hug from them, and we left feeling very happy and elated. It gives me great pleasure to report that not only are Tapes 'n' Tapes totally worth the hype and the fearsome live reputation, but they are a bunch of sweet guys who keep to their word and made an old uncle and his niece very happy for the night.