The View, Liquid Rooms, Edinburgh
- Written by Alex Watt
Words:Alex Watt
Photos: Julia Stryj
A Tuesday night in the Liquid Rooms with a band and audience hell-bent on having a good time. What could be better?
The View are promoting their new album Ropewalk released on 4th September this year. Tonight is the last night of three sold out ones in Edinburgh. Why the demand for tickets? – loyal fans and the first new material since Cheeky For A Reason in July 2012.
It is obvious from about 15 minutes before the gig begins that the audience are prepared and ready to go – chanting the familiar cry ‘The View are on fire!’ They couldn’t be more right and wrong at the same time. Musically they are bang on, but in the sweat soaked pit that the venue becomes you couldn’t have started a fire with napalm and a box of Zippos.
The View launch into familiar old favourites to raise the temperature. An initially up-tempo version of ‘5 Rebeccas’ seems at odds with the nostalgic sadness of the lyrics but is turned around by a perfect soft, keening finish to the vocals from Kyle Falconer. A fine, bouncy outing of bad neighbour ‘Grace’ keeps the mood going and even in the chastising of ‘the Don’ the uplifting atmosphere is maintained.
Bringing their latest work into play, initially, the band seems almost as unfamiliar with the newer styling as the audience, who are slightly unsure of the lyrics but this is merely warming things up as we reach Pete Reilly’s excellent guitar jangling ‘Under the Rug’.
If there were any criticisms then the two noticeable ones are a lack of tightness of the band and the failure to capitalise on some fine lyrics by sometimes chewing and grumbling them like Marlon Brando. But, overall, the View know what they are about and have the material to close out a 90 minute gig with a rendition of their hit, ‘Superstar Tradesman’, that moves the crowd like waves in a force 10.
In an old interview, Kyle Falconer once said, “All I ever need is to see people dancing.” His desires were fulfilled tonight at least.