Last Hyena @ Hug and Pint, Glasgow (2nd September 2021)

 with: InTechnicolour and Greater The Divide

After being to the Vasa gig at Bloc+ (shameless plug to the review of that show over here), I was quite happy to see that there was another rather mathy rock gig coming up a few weeks later at the Hug and Pint. 

Consider my intrigue further enhanced when I later saw that InTechnicolour would be the main support for this show. Nestled snuggly in between two math-rock bands, I had to check a few times that this was the same band I knew who had released the killer deserty stoner rock album Big Sleeper last year. 

Once I was sure this was definitely the same band, I knew I had to go to this show. I couldn't possible miss out on the opportunity to see this band play some of my favourite new tunes from last year for the first time alongside some other cool bands in a venue I'd never been to before.

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For first time visit, I had plenty of time to get familiar with the cosy wee basement venue, as I arrived far too early. So early that I was the only person there. Thankfully, the barperson would soon arrive though, so I wasn't completely on my own, pondering the darkness of my surroundings. Phew.

It then quickly became apparent that the local openers Greater The Divide had brought a healthy group of friends and acquaintances to support them as the snug space slowly but surely filled with infectious excitement. 

This was a promising sign for things to come, and the Glasgow four-piece lived up to this anticipation. 

Being well aware of the limitations of my math-rock knowledge, I'll have to rely on keystones such as And So I Watch You From Afar to describe their sound. I know that my ignorance really does not capture the entirety of what Greater The Divide were offering sonically, but it will have to do for now. They sounded damn good though! 

And the vibe of their set was wicked as well. Clearly buzzing to play their first show in 18 months, the band's stage performance thoroughly matched their riffy but cheerful brand of math-infused post-rock all the way through their half hour set. 

Squished quite tightly together on the small stage which was not yet free of various amp combos, the two guitarists and one bassist up front still managed to look full of life as they threw themselves into the music, while looking absolutely chuffed to be there the whole time. 

The crowd were very helpful in cultivating this energy and hyped up the band during and between songs. Although I'm not too familiar with their work, I can explicitly remember the shouts of "Show me what you got" before they played the Rick and Morty inspired song 'schwifty'. This made me smile a bit during the set, and wholeheartedly contributed to the good vibes created throughout.

As they threw in some new songs among their (relatively speaking) older songs, I made a mental note to myself to check up with these guys in the future, as they were a lot of fun and the songs on display here were wicked. 

Hopefully I get a bit better at describing exactly why this is the case for whenever I inevitably see Greater The Divide play a show again. Great stuff all round. 

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Moving back into more comfortable reviewing territory for myself, it was then over to InTechnicolour in all their Queens Of The Stone Age indebted, fuzzed up glory to show why their slot in this lineup was most thrillingly unusual. Even with the math rock history of some the members becoming clear to me when writing this review.

Launching with 'Miami Funk' (which happened to be one of my most played songs last year), the sand-swept, stoner riffs and bluesy swing of the song was made so much more hefty with the power coming from out the amps. Remarkable tone considering there was only one guitarist on stage. Well played.

Additionally, having prominent vocal lines and one dedicated person to deliver them in the form of the vertically imposing Tobie Anderson made InTechnicolour feel like a very different band to what had come before. Evoking the spirit of vocalists from bands like Mastodon, Baroness, Clutch and- of course- Kyuss/QOSTA, Anderson could move from melodic soulful passages to grittier yelps with ease. 

The rhythm section helped solidify the vibrant feel of the band as bassist Vlad Matveikov struck some Cliff Burton-esque poses while playing, in between almost comically lounging against the walls and amps. Add in some hard-hitting drums that elevated the groove of the music even further, and you were really onto a winner sonically for the entirety of the set. 

Although I have unquestionably forgotten a few songs that were played, the memorability of 'Under The Sun', 'Shaker' and 'Big Sleeper' show that the album is perhaps top heavy when it comes to songs that are primed for the live environment straight out of the box. I believe 'Doomer' was also played to mellow things out a touch as well, which created a nice change of pace. 

Adding to this, there was a song that was definitely played that poked further into the band's gentler side but also showcased the metallic heritage that also came from various members of the band. What balls InTechnicolour had to just throw out a cover of Deftones''Change (In The House of Flies)' to a crowd of math rock fans. And for it to sound so bloody good! I wish I had managed to capture a video of that particular one...

I suppose upon reaching the end of their set then, the only negative aspect I can draw from their performance was that this was really clearly not the best kind of crowd for them. With much of the audience moving backwards after the first band, and being seemingly caught unawares by the different kind of sound, it was a bit of a shame that the engagement was not a bit higher. 

This is not a slight on the crowd though. More that InTechnicolour were perhaps the black sheep of this bill on this particular night. Maybe I was also unaware that the band aren't as big as I wish they were either...

Do go and see them next time they're near you. If you like scuzzy, stoner riffs with a healthy dose of groove and melody, you will not regret it!

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It feels a bit strange to be back to reviewing the main band of the evening then, as I can quite honestly say that I was unfamiliar with Last Hyena before I saw the gig listing. I will also undoubtedly return to my ignorant self once again as I try to tackle the realms of math rock again. Apologies in advance, guys!

Travelling up for their first ever UK headline tour, the trio lived up to their "Bristol boys doing proggy math tunes with a big old smile" Facebook bio from start to finish as the light hearted nature of the band became clear straight away. And this was before knowing that one of their songs is about a future where the only healthcare workers left are octopuses...

Practically never stopping grinning and laughing between each other, the band's setup made the set seem like it was more of a fun jam session between mates than something being performed in front of a crowd. And not in a bad way in the slightest.

Having set up their mighty pedalboards in the middle of the stage facing each other, there was no need for neither guitarist nor bassist to have a microphone for the whole show. Completely riffing off of each other, both musicians would almost throw their jazzy, progressively minded licks towards each other, seemingly challenging each other to respond with something equally impressive. 

Most of the time, this would work in incredibly satisfying ways. The complex polyrhythms were largely kept in time by the drums whose tight stopping and starting directed the band like a conductor. But honestly, even in the very few occasions when it didn't quite work and someone was slightly out of time, the fun nature of the whole experience was impossible to shake, and the errors basically became part of the show as the band laughed it off between themselves in high spirits. 

And that's not even mentioning the only vocal line of the set which went, "Doctorpus, you're just an octopus, you've got no arms". Infectiously joyful stuff, all round. 

As someone who went into this performance with not much of a clue of whether I would enjoy an hour of mostly instrumental music like this, Last Hyena were technically incredibly impressive. More importantly though, they didn't take themselves too seriously and were a hell of a lot of fun to watch. Much to my surprise, the hour flew past really quickly and I could very easily find myself watching them again if I had the chance. 

All in all then, this was very much a successful outing. Even though it was strange for InTechnicolour to be on this bill, I'm so glad they were here as I may not have attended the show otherwise. And what a great time I would have missed out on. I guess Hug and Pint is an accurate name for this cosy wee venue, after all. All the good vibes, indeed!

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I hope you enjoyed this review of Last Hyena at Hug and Pint. Please feel free to leave a comment below (ideally with some math rock recommendations, but everything is appreciated!). You can also help support RWEI by giving us a like/follow on the socials listed on the side of the page.

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Cheers!