Sunday night pre bank holiday Monday and all across Glasgow it's party time. The weather is nice, the pubs are busy and people want to have fun.
It would be hard to tell in the bowels of Nice and Sleazy though.
Hardly anyone is there.
For some reason the turn out for the Eddy and the T-Bolts gig is aspiring to be lacklustre and failing miserably.
Maybe the bands playing had decided the date and time should be considered a secret, and then successfully managed to hoodwink the fans of live music that nothing much was happening this weekend.
Nope. Couldn't be that though. I found out about the show without too much difficulty and I don't even live in Glasgow.
Maybe its down to no one liking Southpaw, Buzzbomb and Eddy and the T-Bolts.
Nope. Can't be that either.
All of them are far better than the average indie rock kids who play week in and week out and have proved this in front of audiences often enough.
So why the poor turnout?
Well don't look at me. I was there.
It's a question you should be asking yourself.
It's not even a question that the people who didn't turn up to Sleazy's should be asking themselves, but one that everyone should.
Just swap the names of these bands for your local heroes and ask yourself when was the last time you seen them.
While you are at it you may want to stop and think about why your local venue - you know the one. That one you haven't visited in the last six months – is closing.
Then when you have come to an answer try putting yourself in the shoes of a band, promoter or venue owner and consider if your answer sounds like a reason or an excuse.
Consider that a mild rant, or a wake up call. It's really up to you.
Meanwhile back in Sleazy's Southpaw are playing post grunge era rock music, and playing it well.
There's more of a blues influence in the guitar than I heard when listening to some of their studio tracks, and the vocals are a good bit more powerful to.
While I couldn't describe them as a band that tick all my boxes. they are none the less good at what they do, and if that modern day rock style rings your bell then I could assure you that they will provide a fine nights entertainment for you. So go and see them. (or don't as going to see live bands doesn't appear to be fashionable any more unless the band graces the cover of a magazine, or they're your brothers mates band and they say you can get in for nothing.)
Buzzbomb on the other hand do tick my boxes.
Nothing much stops them putting on a good show.
The bassist has got a brand new nippy tattoo and a cold, the drummer a double hernia and the guitarist admits freely that he's fat, and collectively they might be a bit past it.
The performance wouldn't lead you to believe that any of that is going to stop them from giving it 100% though.
Bands a fraction of their age couldn't manage to keep up with Buzzbomb when they are in full flow.
Between the three of them all the vocal bases are covered to, with none of the band being unwilling to step forward and assume the lead.
It makes for an interesting gig and allows them to tackle pretty much anything they want to.
Apart from the original tracks of dam impressive melodic punk rock we get a great run through of Knowledge and Sonic Reducer that would bring a smile to punk fans young and old.
Bit of something for everyone really.
In fact most of the young punk bands that I see on my travels could do with checking out Buzzbomb as it would give then a real time example of how it should be done.
Eddy & The T-Bolts who step up next are taking the lack of a crowd on the chin and rising above the disappointment.
The guitarist does mention that this is probably the most expensive practise session the band has ever had, but apart from that they just roll their sleeves up and get on with the job at had, and that job is to RAWK.
While I've seen the band quite a few times in the past it has always been as a support act and never headlining.
So I was impressed to see them carry a full performance on their own.
There's no slacking and they easily have enough solid material to take that step up to top of the bill status.
The three new songs on display are as catchy as anything they have released before and fit in well with the older more familiar material.
It all flows well and if you liked them before then you will love them now.
The whole band deserve huge kudos for what they do.
It all falls into place pretty much perfectly,
Eddy himself is his usual exuberant self.
So exuberant that there's no photographs from the gig that I can up as he's a blur of motion in them all. (That one up there is Buzzbomb.)
The guitarist deserves a review of his own, but I'm not a muso so all I can really say is that it sounds shit hot to my ears.
As someone who is rather laissez faire about who is in and out in the guitar world you can take my highlighting of how good he is as high praise indeed.
Needless to say this doesn't mean that the rhythm section aren't deserving of some praise to.
The guys are the solid skeleton that everything else hangs off of.
The band are fuckin' tip top.
Over all I've got to give all the acts ten out of ten each.
A great nights entertainment for four quid.
The people who turned up deserve a ten out of ten for effort to.
While the ones who didn't as they were too busy scratching their balls, or fud, in front of the latest Cowell-esque talent show deserve nothing more than a fuck you very much though.
You guys are ruining the scene for us who do appreciate and love it.
Anyone who does attend shows regularly, but didn't make this one can exclude themselves from the fuck you very much, but they know that already.
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