Photo Credit: Alice Baxley
It’s been ten years since FIDLAR released their first album and now the band return to Glasgow to play tracks from their latest EP unplug, released in August, which consists of six of their biggest songs performed acoustically. FIDLAR (Fuck it dog, life’s a risk) are an American punk/garage/rock band from Los Angeles with Zac Carper on vocals, Brandon Schwartzel (bass) and Max Kuehn on drums. We were promised a diverse night of music and London band Frozemode kicked the night off with their alternative rap set, with some drum and bass thrown in to mix it up. The band had actually just released their debut EP DEMODE two days before the gig and this was a chance for them to play some songs from that. Frozemode will have been new to most of those in the room but that didn’t stop them creating a good band/crowd vibe as they worked through their setlist including Making It Up, RUFF and Maybelline and the best song was left for last, with Stick Dat giving the crowd a chance to dance alongside the band as the three singers, I.V.Gatlin, Lisong and Cho-Hollo, came out into the crowd to create some vibes in the room. It may have been Sunday night but that didn’t stop the fans from joining with the first circle pit of the night. Frozemode certainly left their mark on the Glasgow crowd. 8/10
Dune Rats formed in Brisbane, Australia in 2011 and the punk band were back in Glasgow to play tracks from their 2022 album Real Rare Whale. Thunderstruck by AC/DC was an appropriate song to play just before the band took to the stage, whipping the crowd into a frenzy. The band immediately went for a big start with most popular song Scott Green opening the set “At a party/who’s Scott Green, Who it is doesn’t matter to me” sang vocalist Danny Beus, backed up by bass player Brett Jansch. We couldn’t keep our eyes off the bass player as he moved around the stage non stop during the set, his intensity was incredible. The SWG3 crowd were privileged to hear the band play their latest single Be Like You for the first time live, with Beus trying to stir up nationalism within the crowd by saying they would rather the Glasgow crowd heard it live before London, and a few other words which can’t be mentioned here! A Scottish fan, Fraser, was allowed to join the band on stage to play guitar on Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again, a cover of The Angels track, and he held his own which the crowd appreciated as he left the stage to a rapturous applause. The set ended with Bullshit, from their 2017 album The Kids Will Know It’s Bullshit. These guys know how to party! 9/10
The second that FIDLAR took to the stage vocalist Carper drew a circle with his hand which could only mean one thing ‘time to open the fuck up’ he screams as a massive gap appears on the floor and mayhem ensues. The set began with Cheap Beer and Stoked and Broke from their debut album FIDLAR in 2013. One of the highlights of the set was during the song 5 to 9 when singer Carper demanded a female only mosh pit, saying that if you see a dude in there fuck him up! Unreal. There seemed to be a constant wave of crowd surfing throughout the set with security struggling to keep up with it all at the front. SWG3 is a perfect sized venue for gigs like this, with a capacity of 1000 and the room was just about full. 40Oz. On Repeat was another highlight in the set, being played to perfection and the crowd singing back every word to them. The quirky song Sober was well received with Carper creating more energy in the room singing “I figured out as I got older/That life just sucks when you get sober”. The song does have an important message to send dealing with alcoholism and the effects it can have on people’s lives. Fans also had a chance to hear recent release Nudge for the first time and it was well received. The three bands on tonight’s line-up made for an excellent night of music. 9/10
Written By: Alan Brown
