Its not often that you get so blown away by a support act that you hope theyve not ruined your expectations of the band you actually came to see. This was the conundrum we found ourselves lost in last night. Fellow Glaswegians The Hip Parade took to the stage before The Cinematics headlined, and all I can say is wowsers.
From the same aural breeding ground that bore The Fratellis, The Hip Parade (who shot to fame as part of the Orange Unsigned Act competition) were confident, abrasive, and a little cocky. Trademark checked shirts at the ready, lead singer Rob Shah led the way through the set as they tore up the stage upstairs at the Barfly. Providing pioneering rock and pulling the kind of stunts youd expect a headliner to do, these guys are certainly ones to watch.
So, lets talk The Cinematics. As they marched on stage, I was a little perturbed. Manufactured within an inch of their 1950s hair and skinny-jeaned lives, they seemed a little contrived. Out of the bag came classics from previous album A Strange Education (2007), tracks that were fed to the packed-out venue included Break (which was excellent) and Keep Forgetting. Maybe Someday with its powerful vocals and desperate riffs pushed vocalist Scott Rinning to the limit.
We were led through newer material including the new single Love And Terror and future release Wish with momentum intact - and, ooooh, a political one, as The Cinematics demonstrated a maturing sound for their fresher tracks. The set was punchy and perfectly delivered, complete with resounding hooks and a bit of a bassfest towards the end.
The encore, Strange Education, was a bit of a let-down. A well-executed rendition ensued, but they have much stronger songs in their repertoire.
The show was flawless and well-engineeredbut felt ridiculously fake, quite trying-too-hard with the whole dress-sense thing and their serious faade. I suppose smiling may have cracked their hair gel. Let me have one more comment about the style, then Ill stopit was like watching Eli Paperboy Reed playing an Editors set. Then again, if it aint broke, dont fix it. Their new single Love And Terror is released on May 4th.