LIVE REVIEW: Saint Agnes, BEX, Human Renegade, Garage Attic, Glasgow, 27/01/2024
Photo Credit: Martin Smith (21st January – Fleece, Bristol)
There were two attractions at the Garage in Glasgow on this Saturday night with a Prince tribute act playing downstairs and for us it was up to the Attic for the Saint Agnes Bloodsuckers Tour where the band would play most of their Bloodsuckers album. The music of Saint Agnes can be considered punk or rock with elements of metal and it’s great to see a band that can switch easily between both.
The first support band for tonight’s show were Glasgow’s Human Renegade who we were fortunate to see last October when they supported Starbenders. They put on a lively show to warm the fans up with a blistering set which included their biggest songs Emo, The Fallen Rising, 17 Hour Heartbreak and Girl Who Cried Wolf. They left a great impression on the crowd as they left the stage to a rapturous applause. 7/10
Londoner BEX brought her punk rock set as the crowd at the Attic swelled to almost capacity with everyone anticipating a high energy set with fan engagement. BEX released six track EP SCUM in October 2023 which had rave reviews and after playing at 2000Trees and Y Not Festival in the summer of 2023 is gaining a dedicated support. Sadly the Glasgow crowd let BEX down tonight with the room being fairly static during her set except a few down the front that were trying their best to create some energy. Highlights of the set were Chained Into My Brain, Filfy, Don’t Date The Devil and Hazmat Suit (My Ass) and all four band members gave absolutely everything on that stage including BEX coming out into the crowd a couple of times to try and stir things up a little. For us it was an all round excellent high energy performance and look forward to seeing the band play a headline set. 8/10
The Garage Attic must have been at its one hundred and fifty capacity awaiting the arrival of Saint Agnes to the stage with a good atmosphere building around the room. The four-piece band appeared on the stage around 9pm to loud cheers as they immediately went into Bloodsuckers; the title track of the album as everyone screamed Bloodsuckers, Motherf***ers! Which was the energetic start that vocalist Kitty A. Austen would have been looking for. Austen is a no nonsense in your face musician who doesn’t hold back from singing about the issues of the world, usually with more than a few expletives to help express the feelings! In total we got to hear seven tracks from the Bloodsucker album including the excellent Animal and At War With Myself during which the highlight was the guitar playing of Jon Tufnell, who was also on backing vocals, and the drumming from Andy Head was unreal at times. The band had a new bass player for this tour and they brough some great energy to the stage tonight. There was a very personal moment for vocalist Austen when This Is Not The End was played, the song being written around the death of her mother, during which the emotions were high. The last song of the set Follow You was very intense with the strobe lighting used to amazing effect as Austen sang “It doesn’t matter what they say about us/I don’t give a fuck, I don’t give a fuck”. What a night of live music! 8/10
Written By: Alan Brown
