As a Falkirk boy it’s always nice to see the town still capable of drawing some top bands, and tonight is the best lineup for a while with Kyle Falconer touring his debut album No Thank You with support from Kieran Fisher, The Nickajack Men and Vida.
Denny’s finest, The Nickajack Men, put on an impressive set with particular highlights including latest singles Changed Ways & Different Languages. Since bursting onto the scene in 2016, selling out gigs with no material and only word of mouth, they’ve continued to build on this with a steady stream of excellent releases which should see their stock rise even further. With a dash of The War on Drugs, and a whiff of Pearl Jam - they manage to bridge the indie/rock divide with aplomb. Next up were Vida, who first impressed during this years Stag & Dagger, and tonight they proved they have even more in the locker. Bringing the Britpop swagger, they immediately had the crowd in the palm of their hand with tracks like Let You Believe and Where We Came From. Every chorus belted back at them from a crowd delighted to see their local favourites, and who were here as much for them as they were for Kyle. New track A Place Where We Can Forget, is seemingly perfect for both a Summers day and a dark Falkirk nightclub. Although, you’d be forgiven for thinking the sun was shining as lead guitarist, Nathan, played throughout in his customary shades. A perfect warm-up for the main event.
Having been a fan from the very beginning (with a member of the Mockit team present when The View first played the same venue over a decade ago), I was intrigued how Kyle Falconer would approach his first solo tour. Wasting no time, he fired straight into recent single Poor Me, which instantly got the room bouncing, followed by The Therapist. He continued to showcase his debut album with some of this best songs to date such as Avalanche and Family tree.
However, like any ex-Lead Singer embarking on a solo career, the balance between old and new can be challenging, but tonight i feel Kyle handles it well. If anything, he perhaps leans too much on older tracks! After the gig it seems fans were hoping for more new tracks, Kyle should take confidence from this. Fans love No Thank You and are keen to hear more album tracks.
The View songs tonight, predictable, went down a storm, including Gem of a Bird, Bunker, Grace and a rare outing for House of Queues. But it was fan favourite Face for the Radio which was the highlight, especially for one diehard fan who was plucked out of the crowd to join his hero for the vast majority of the track. It's this kind of adulation which has no doubt kept Kyle Falconer going throughout the years, and will surely take heart from such a boisterous crowd lapping up both old and new.
Finally, there has been some discussion over the choice of venue, but with a lack of options in the area for 300+ capacity, the Warehouse is one of the only options. Yes, the sound isn’t great, the stage isn’t perfect, but it’s venues such as these that need to survive to ensure local bands like Vida, Nickajack Men and more household names can continue to reach out to new and existing fans. Why should fans in smaller towns have to travel far and wide to see their favourite bands?
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