On a sunny day in Scotland (well anywhere in the world really) people tend to head towards the beach, shorts on etc. if you’re in Ayrshire then a lot of people tend to head towards Saltcoats beach, and if you head towards that beach, just off the main street down from the amusements lies a building with the words outside “The Flask” from the outside it looks like a nice wee restaurant and if you walk in during the day it’s got a great atmosphere to it. However if you walk in on a Sunday night, you’ll walk straight into a wall of music, some good and some not so good. Sunday the 25th of March 2012 was one of those nights where the music was great. Two Glasgow bands “Audiodriver” and “The Detours” gave The Flask some of the best music that it’s ever had.
Emily and I headed down for dinner before hand, and originally wanted to see Audiodriver, a band who I’ve never actually witnessed live. When I saw them take to the stage my first thought on their image was Blink 182, they had ¾ lengths on, pink hair, Mohawks and they just had that overall feel that they were going to hit out some 4 chord structured songs and sing about blow jobs…..they didn’t.
Audiodriver are a band who command a presence on stage, write great songs and perform a tight set. Tonight was a night with a new drummer, and in all honesty you couldn’t tell. As in every band, it’s important to have the rhythm section performing well together and Audiodriver pulled it off brilliantly. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I got the impression that the Bassist wanted to be the front man, but that’s possibly because he has so much energy he needs to vent it somehow. Their songs “Who I am” “Universal Truth” and “Reach Out” were so full of life and had lead guitar parts that blew me away. Their cover of Pink Floyds “Brick in the Wall” had even the crowd that wasn’t interested in the music dancing. My favourite song of the set was not one of their own, it was in fact a cover of South Parks Chef with “Chocolate Salty Balls” I’ve never heard the song covered before and it was an amazing cover, in fact it was better than the original, they even threw in a bit of choreography. Overall I would recommend going to see Audiodriver, they are a great band, they performed amazingly but the best was yet to come.
After a cigarette break and a wee chat with our “Star in the reasonably priced bar” Amanda, we settled down for the next band “The Detours” the crowd had dispersed as they had all obviously came to see Audiodriver, and felt that no other band deserved their attention, a common occurrence at gigs and one that grates on my nerves enormously. They missed out greatly though, because The Detours are possibly the best band I have seen in years. Everything from the lyrics right down to the image was perfection. The song “Ignite” caught my attention, the guitar was so beautifully loud it was enough to make me smile (not much makes me smile) when the vocals kicked in, I knew this band were going to be good. Before they had even finished the song, Emily turned to me and said “They are going to be big” and she’s right. Ignite has the Lyrics “Your mind is hectic don’t lose the drive” and I can see that every individual of the band have the drive to succeed and make music that everyone will love. They remind me of a more melodic version of a band called “Rev Theory” (if you’ve never heard them I suggest you check them out) The Detours in my eyes however are a much better and stronger sounding band. They threw in two covers in their set, one was an amazing version of “Wayward Son” by Kansas which was so good, I thought I was listening to a cd version, three vocal harmonies at the one time and instrumentally sound, it’s the best cover I’ve ever heard of any song. They also performed a mash up of “Country Roads” and “Want you to want me” which should be the original version of both songs (I have that awful habit of preferring originals, not in this case however) because I think more would enjoy this version. The guys finished their set with their single “One Last Chance” which when introducing it they announced that they were very proud of the song and that it’s due to be broadcast on Kerrang, and I can see why. I’m not going to lie, I thought the lyrics were “Get a ginger ale” and it’s actually “This ship won’t sail” so I do feel like a bit of a plamf, but none the less, the song has “HIT” written all over it.
After the set we had a little chat with the band, and I even bought a CD. Amanda explained to them that I don’t buy anything, so they must have impressed me, and they did. I think I have a new love, and that love is The Detours. It’s one of those moments in life, when you realize that there’s a reason why you love music. For me The Detours embody everything that I love about music, and that’s what makes them such a great band to listen to and watch. I’ll definitely be attending more gigs of theirs, if it means giving up some of my own gigs. I’m now an addict. As I sit here with a copy of their CD sitting next to me, I’m thinking to myself, that one day these guys will be touring the world, selling out arenas, making television appearances and you know what? I saw them first, at a small venue in Saltcoats on the West Coast of Scotland.
Check out the detours at http://www.wearethedetours.com/
Audiodriver are a band who command a presence on stage, write great songs and perform a tight set. Tonight was a night with a new drummer, and in all honesty you couldn’t tell. As in every band, it’s important to have the rhythm section performing well together and Audiodriver pulled it off brilliantly. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I got the impression that the Bassist wanted to be the front man, but that’s possibly because he has so much energy he needs to vent it somehow. Their songs “Who I am” “Universal Truth” and “Reach Out” were so full of life and had lead guitar parts that blew me away. Their cover of Pink Floyds “Brick in the Wall” had even the crowd that wasn’t interested in the music dancing. My favourite song of the set was not one of their own, it was in fact a cover of South Parks Chef with “Chocolate Salty Balls” I’ve never heard the song covered before and it was an amazing cover, in fact it was better than the original, they even threw in a bit of choreography. Overall I would recommend going to see Audiodriver, they are a great band, they performed amazingly but the best was yet to come.
After a cigarette break and a wee chat with our “Star in the reasonably priced bar” Amanda, we settled down for the next band “The Detours” the crowd had dispersed as they had all obviously came to see Audiodriver, and felt that no other band deserved their attention, a common occurrence at gigs and one that grates on my nerves enormously. They missed out greatly though, because The Detours are possibly the best band I have seen in years. Everything from the lyrics right down to the image was perfection. The song “Ignite” caught my attention, the guitar was so beautifully loud it was enough to make me smile (not much makes me smile) when the vocals kicked in, I knew this band were going to be good. Before they had even finished the song, Emily turned to me and said “They are going to be big” and she’s right. Ignite has the Lyrics “Your mind is hectic don’t lose the drive” and I can see that every individual of the band have the drive to succeed and make music that everyone will love. They remind me of a more melodic version of a band called “Rev Theory” (if you’ve never heard them I suggest you check them out) The Detours in my eyes however are a much better and stronger sounding band. They threw in two covers in their set, one was an amazing version of “Wayward Son” by Kansas which was so good, I thought I was listening to a cd version, three vocal harmonies at the one time and instrumentally sound, it’s the best cover I’ve ever heard of any song. They also performed a mash up of “Country Roads” and “Want you to want me” which should be the original version of both songs (I have that awful habit of preferring originals, not in this case however) because I think more would enjoy this version. The guys finished their set with their single “One Last Chance” which when introducing it they announced that they were very proud of the song and that it’s due to be broadcast on Kerrang, and I can see why. I’m not going to lie, I thought the lyrics were “Get a ginger ale” and it’s actually “This ship won’t sail” so I do feel like a bit of a plamf, but none the less, the song has “HIT” written all over it.
After the set we had a little chat with the band, and I even bought a CD. Amanda explained to them that I don’t buy anything, so they must have impressed me, and they did. I think I have a new love, and that love is The Detours. It’s one of those moments in life, when you realize that there’s a reason why you love music. For me The Detours embody everything that I love about music, and that’s what makes them such a great band to listen to and watch. I’ll definitely be attending more gigs of theirs, if it means giving up some of my own gigs. I’m now an addict. As I sit here with a copy of their CD sitting next to me, I’m thinking to myself, that one day these guys will be touring the world, selling out arenas, making television appearances and you know what? I saw them first, at a small venue in Saltcoats on the West Coast of Scotland.
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