Indie…Indie…Indie. Day 2 is all about the Indie rock and as a self-proclaimed Indie gal I’ve gotten all nostalgic with this one.
Another underground venue for us this day as we are in the previous Captains Cabin underneath Church, now going by the name Hidden. I hadn’t been in since the days of captains but I was pleasantly surprised. The stage is along the back wall, loud and proud, where it’s visible from every angle of the space, even still with the middle bar. At first I felt the stage was too big, making the artists seem rather detached from each other while spread out but as the night progressed I felt it was instead just a lack of commonality to it. It’s quirky and its different from other venues in Dundee, which I think works well in their favour.
As I said this day was all about the indie rock, banger after banger that my wee indie girl heart was buzzing for. Once again the coherence and flow between bands was incredible as they all complemented each other extremely well while not overshadowing each other, they built each other up with each performance, blending well with the tone of the crowd at certain points in the night, which is perfect booking by UTS, in my opinion.
First up for the night we had the infamous Dundee local Callum Gibson. I’ve seen Callum before in open mics dotted around but this was the first time I was seeing them perform a full set. Overall they gave a 90s b-side feel to their set, like that hidden gem song you wouldn’t have realised was such a banger until it randomly played on your Spotify recommended one day. Their songs were all incredibly emotionally intelligent, pulling you along as they sang and played the guitar.
Second up was Roomfore, another Dundonian band and a personal favourite of mine from the night. The drummer blew me away, being one of the best I’ve seen for a long time, they were incredibly consistent pulling out complex drumming to accompany the guitar melodies and bass lines. Raw, throaty vocals were well paired with super groovy guitars that created a cohesive set that left me wanting more from them by the end. The band is a new find for me but definitely one I can see myself keeping an eye on for more.
Now… Panhead Sharps, a band I was told to look out for and they did not disappoint. Firstly these guys are THE hype men and looked to have a massive following. The band brought so much energy to their set, and the crowd knew exactly who was turning up, wearing merch and singing along to every song. The transitions between songs were almost flawless, with the grunge style guitars and vocals got everyone jumping, even me. Once again the drummer was excellent, paired with amazing guitars and enough energy to wake the dead.
Ferguson was giving Fontaines D.C meets Catfish and the Bottlemen and what a vibe to bring as the second to last set of the night. At this point in the night the crowd shifted to what looked to be a younger group of people and the overall vibe mellowed out when these guys were on. The band did a couple of covers in their set, hyping up the crowd before the last band of the night took to the stage. Id like to give the lead guitarist a honourable mention for the incredible solos they did also.
Last but never least..The Castros! Incredible energy, flawless melodies, catchy tunes and electric vocals, what can’t these Fife lads do? A favourite of mine from all three shows, these guys know how to close a night. The band, just like Panhead Sharps have a big following, meaning the energy in the crowd was incredible, being packed out as everyone sang along. Overall they are extremely coherent with excellent compositions and catchy melodies. I feel I have to give an honourable mention to the singer who was the ultimate hype man, consistently getting the crowd dancing along with him, especially during my favourite song, Evacuate…what a tune.
Day 2…check…onto day 3!
