Allusinlove: Broadcast, Glasgow (4th January 2019)
with Shredd and Black King Cobra
Having last seen the psychedelic leaning grunge band back in 2016 under the old moniker of Allusondrugs, I was curious and keen to see the band with their new name, new material and new lineup (they've since went from a five piece to a four piece). Joining this gig in Broadcast were two Glasgow bands Shredd and Black King Cobra.
The latter opened this gig in an interesting fashion. I hadn't actually heard of this band beforehand and had only briefly listened to one song on Spotify an hour or so before going to the venue. The four piece Black King Cobra had an bluesy, almost garage rock sound that was both energetic and rough around the edges. This didn't entirely work for the band, however, as they were plagued with technical issues throughout their set. Before the first song ended, their guitarist's guitar strap had broken, and the band was at a standstill. This led to an awkward cry for help from the guitarist who, god love him, was clearly in a state of panic over the situation. With help from Allusinlove vocalist Jason, and some of the venue crew, they managed to fix the problem (with plenty of duct tape) but in the mean time, the rest of the band tried to fill out the slightly painful gap in the set with on stage banter and an improv bass and drum fill. I don't think it would be too harsh to say that this felt a little bit unprofessional, but the band did the best that they could in the situation, not taking themselves too seriously. Sadly, the momentum was again stalled when other issues occurred, like the sound blowing out on the amp and the microphone disconnecting from its stand. It's a shame, because when the band were able to get things going properly, they had a pretty decent sound, and looked like they were having a good time live. Regardless of whether this was a case of Black King Cobra needing a bit more preparation time to get into the swing of things on stage or just having incredibly bad luck, they were certainly decent when they were able to actually play some songs. I'll definitely be keeping my eye on this band in the future.
Markedly more po-faced and a good deal slicker live were the next band, Shredd. I'd heard this band on record before, but I wasn't prepared for just how much more ferocious they would sound in the live environment. The three piece brought a level of intensity live which I really didn't expect. Utilising very few vocal parts, Shredd's sonic assault was almost entirely dependent on their instrumentals. Of which, I was really impressed by the level of energy within this unit. I know it's a lazy comparison at times, but the three piece did remind me of Nirvana. The guitarist had a tone live that was reminiscent of that band at their most rollicking and chaotic. All the while, the rhythm section was able to keep the sound just on the right side of control. The rhythm section in Shredd may just be one of the best I've seen from such a young band. Both the drummer and bassists were absolute beasts (further justifying such Nirvana comparisons). Whether the band were locking into Sabbath/Soundgarden esque heavy grooves, for example in their last song, or just being downright fast and aggressive, they were a hell of a good time to watch. Although the band had very little stage banter between songs and had quite a serious stage presence unlike the band before them, the quality of the sound ensured that this was a positive thing rather than a negative. I would thoroughly recommend fans of grungey punk checking this band out if you have the chance, as they really were great live. It's not often that it can be possible to focus on any one member of a band and feel as equally entertained by their playing, but Shredd definitely fell into this category for me. Awesome.
The latter opened this gig in an interesting fashion. I hadn't actually heard of this band beforehand and had only briefly listened to one song on Spotify an hour or so before going to the venue. The four piece Black King Cobra had an bluesy, almost garage rock sound that was both energetic and rough around the edges. This didn't entirely work for the band, however, as they were plagued with technical issues throughout their set. Before the first song ended, their guitarist's guitar strap had broken, and the band was at a standstill. This led to an awkward cry for help from the guitarist who, god love him, was clearly in a state of panic over the situation. With help from Allusinlove vocalist Jason, and some of the venue crew, they managed to fix the problem (with plenty of duct tape) but in the mean time, the rest of the band tried to fill out the slightly painful gap in the set with on stage banter and an improv bass and drum fill. I don't think it would be too harsh to say that this felt a little bit unprofessional, but the band did the best that they could in the situation, not taking themselves too seriously. Sadly, the momentum was again stalled when other issues occurred, like the sound blowing out on the amp and the microphone disconnecting from its stand. It's a shame, because when the band were able to get things going properly, they had a pretty decent sound, and looked like they were having a good time live. Regardless of whether this was a case of Black King Cobra needing a bit more preparation time to get into the swing of things on stage or just having incredibly bad luck, they were certainly decent when they were able to actually play some songs. I'll definitely be keeping my eye on this band in the future.
Markedly more po-faced and a good deal slicker live were the next band, Shredd. I'd heard this band on record before, but I wasn't prepared for just how much more ferocious they would sound in the live environment. The three piece brought a level of intensity live which I really didn't expect. Utilising very few vocal parts, Shredd's sonic assault was almost entirely dependent on their instrumentals. Of which, I was really impressed by the level of energy within this unit. I know it's a lazy comparison at times, but the three piece did remind me of Nirvana. The guitarist had a tone live that was reminiscent of that band at their most rollicking and chaotic. All the while, the rhythm section was able to keep the sound just on the right side of control. The rhythm section in Shredd may just be one of the best I've seen from such a young band. Both the drummer and bassists were absolute beasts (further justifying such Nirvana comparisons). Whether the band were locking into Sabbath/Soundgarden esque heavy grooves, for example in their last song, or just being downright fast and aggressive, they were a hell of a good time to watch. Although the band had very little stage banter between songs and had quite a serious stage presence unlike the band before them, the quality of the sound ensured that this was a positive thing rather than a negative. I would thoroughly recommend fans of grungey punk checking this band out if you have the chance, as they really were great live. It's not often that it can be possible to focus on any one member of a band and feel as equally entertained by their playing, but Shredd definitely fell into this category for me. Awesome.
Last but not least were the band I was really here to see, Allusinlove. Having last seen the band in the Audio with around a dozen or so other people a few years prior, I was quite happy to see that the crowd for this gig was a little bigger. With everyone moving towards the front of the venue for them coming on, when compared to the last two bands, it really felt like this was their headline show, which is always nice. After releasing their first official material under the new moniker at the tail end of 2018, I was always curious as to how it would sound live, as it was a good bit different from anything they've recorded as Allusondrugs.
Slightly moving away from the shoegazy psychedelic grunge, the band have since had slightly more of a, dare I say, polished sound. I'll admit I wasn't as keen on this material as their previous EP when I first heard it, perhaps in part due to the sense that the production made the band sound less raw than what I knew they sounded like live. This gig has thoroughly changed my mind however. Playing a relatively short set (around 45 minutes, I think), Allusinlove mostly played new songs, which was to be expected. The ones from the new EP just sounded so much more vibrant and raw than what they do on record. The grungier offering of 'Full Circle' sounded absolutely huge as a set opener, especially considering the band only have one guitarist now. Those heavy tones. Yes. Songs like 'Lover I Need a Friend' and 'Bad Girls' brought a slightly different element to the band, with sounds which were simultaneously super sensual and loved up through those hypnotic fuzzed up grooves. In terms of stage presence, the ever charismatic and interesting frontman Jason was more than happy to play into the seductive side of things. In fact, every member of this band were just great to watch here, continuing what I have known of this band's sense of energetic but carefree sense of spontaneity. I, like a few others in the room, were chuffed when the band decided to play a few older songs ('I'm Your Man' and 'Sunset Yellow', which slotted perfectly into the set. I'm sure that these songs have been slightly altered musically by the band, as they seemed to have a bit more of that groovy feel than I can remember them having in the past. Much can be said about 'All the Good People' (a song first released under Allusondrugs), which, after its re-recording, has a far more upbeat, rock n' roll feel to it than it did before, and as such, is by far the biggest song the band have ever released. This was killer to watch live, and I can see this song getting people jumping about to in larger environments.
Overall, I was super impressed with Allusinlove as, if anything, they've actually gotten even better as a live band due to the changes within the last few years. I'm definitely more optimistic about the band after seeing them. Whereas before, I was more keen on them re-releasing older material, I'm now equally looking forward to seeing which new directions the band can take in the future. I can totally see why they've went with the name Allusinlove now, and fair play to them for going somewhere a bit different. I would definitely recommend seeing these guys if they ever pass by, as I don't think they got the plaudits they deserved the first time round. Well in, lads.
If you want to check out some footage from this gig, I've got a few videos below.
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