The View, Barrowland, Glasgow

Thursday 20 December 2012

Never mind Black Friday, for some this was surely their most chaotic night of the year.

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Jonathan Geddes

The View's fans are always rowdy, so an extravaganza of pint-throwing, sing-a-long merriment was unsurprising. They're a devoted bunch, and when bassist Kieran Webster complimented a fan on his Joe Strummer T-shirt, it was no shock to see it immediately hurled towards the stage.

A sense of punkish anarchy runs through some of the View's best songs. They all galloped about the stage with gusto, and such enthusiasm is one reason they inspire such affection, as they're just the same, at heart, as their fans. Simple lad rock dismissals are inaccurate, with the deft Fleetwood Mac-style pop of The Clock, the twists and turns of Tragic Magic and the lovely piano ballad Tacky Tattoo all displaying a depth beyond mere raucousness, while Wasted Little DJs and Sunday fizzed along in grand power pop style.Yet while the energy was always present, those flashes of real talent were more sporadic, and several tracks could have done with disappearing entirely, given the marathon near-two hours of the performance. While their records are often creative, live too many songs fall into indie cul de sacs, barely lasting in the memory beyond the final cry of Kyle Falconer's often scrambled vocal. It created a second half that simply ran out of steam. There were the odd surprises, such as a snippet of early Oasis favourite Cigarettes & Alcohol and, bizarrely, Stoke City footballer Peter Crouch appearing onstage briefly, towering over the band like Gulliver with the Lilliputians. But a sleeker set and a little more variety would have helped the gig grow in stature. HHH

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The View, Barrowland, Glasgow

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