Photo Credit: Andy Davies
Irish rockers Therapy? recently headed back out on tour and the band played an intimate show in Glasgow for the lucky three hundred souls that managed to get their hands on a ticket at the iconic King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, and what an incredible night of music it turned out to be. If the Therapy? name isn’t already on those famous steps then it soon will be. The small venue was almost full to capacity when Bokassa took to the stage, with the band from Trondheim, Norway working through a thirteen song set, playing tracks from their three album released to date – Divide and Conquer, Crimson Rider and 2021 release Molotov Rocktail. The band describe their music as stoner rock or hardcore punk, and they got the crowd onside straight away with Freelude, the opening track from Molotov Rocktail. They were well aware that they didn’t have much time on stage so worked their way through as many tracks as possible with their continuity being a highlight as well as the ability to switch vocal duties between all three band members: Jorn Kaarstad, Olav Dowkes and Bard Linga. November releases Let’s Storm The Capitol and Garden of Heathen were highlights of the set with lead singer Kaarstad even having time to down a shot which a fan handed him. Bokassa were lucky enough to tour with Metallica in 2019 on their WorldWired tour alongside fellow Scandinavians Ghost and after tonight’s performance we can expect to see them touring on these shores again soon. 9/10
King Tut’s was now packed to capacity with a mixture of twenty something’s and upwards providing a diverse crowd and we had the best view possible at the back of the venue standing on a wooden bench. It’s hard to believe that Therapy? formed in 1990 and are still going strong despite a few line up changes over the years. Original band members Andy Cairns (vocals and guitar) and Michael McKeegan (bass/backing vocals) and drummer of twenty years Neil Cooper took to the stage at half nine promising a full on set and they did not disappoint! The opener They Shoot The Terrible Master, the first song from the 2023 Hard Cold Fire album, is named after a quote from American novelist David Foster Wallace and is appreciated by the capacity crowd. Next up we get to hear Nausea from the 1992 album Nurse, in fact they would go on and play two other tracks from the Nurse album, the songs being Neck Freak and Teethgrinder. and a cover of Joy Division’s Isolation, a tribute to the late Ian Curtis. Lets not forget that we are talking here about a band that have released sixteen albums so there was a lot of diversity in the setlist, with the band moving quickly between the years during the twenty five songs that they played.
Nearing the end of the main set Diane was played, a cover of a Hüsker Dü song, and the King Tut’s crowd joined in with the chorus and honestly every single person in the room was singing along. This was a very connected moment and one of the highlights of the night, being appreciated by the band, even though it touches on a serious subject in the murder of a young American. The band left the stage after Teethgrinder, which allowed everyone time to get their breath back but would soon be back to play an incredible encore of seven tracks! There were tribute songs to Shane MacGowan (Die Laughing) and a Killing Joke cover (The Wait). They saved their biggest hitters until last with Screamager and Nowhere creating an explosion of dancing, singing and general mayhem with vocalist Cairns commenting that he had never heard so much singing from the crowd. We all hope that they keep their promise and come back and see us all again soon perhaps in a bigger setting. 10/10
Written By: Alan Brown
