Live: Kodaline - King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow
- Written by Joe Watson
A lot can be said for gigs at the prestigious King Tuts Wah Wah Hut. But although I have frequented the venue on numerous occasions - running the eye over Glasgow’s thriving grassroots music scene - I am still yet to experience why it was voted ‘Britain’s Best Small Venue’ by NME in 2011. Tonight however, suggests that one need only witness King Tut’s hosting a top line-up in order to see this 300 capacity venue come to life. Kodaline and Co. do just the trick.
Gavin James opens the show and the young Dubliner wastes no time displaying the talent that helped him win The Choice Meteor ‘Song of the Year Award’ for 2012 ahead of The Script, Villagers and not to mention tonight’s headliners Kodaline. Californian quartet In The Valley Below pick up from where Gavin left off and begin to wow the crowd in their own different way with hushed swirls of male and female vocals that emerge as dark stories of brooding riddles and romance.
In The Valley Below depart to a rapturous applause from the crowd which includes none other than Noel Gallagher - who has returned in a pilgrimage to the place were Oasis first got signed 20 years earlier. Kodaline waste no time taking to the stage and soon the place awash with the psychedelic sound of ‘Lose Your Mind’ which has an air of Super Furry Animals or even later Kula Shaker to it.
As the headliners roll straight into ‘Pray’ - something of a hybrid of Thom Yorke and Muse - it’s hard not to think of the incoherence of the musical catalogue which spans their last 2 EP’s. That’s one for the snobs to hack over though and front-man Steve Garrigan freely admits that Kodaline are still trying to find themselves as a band. What matters now are that the folk who have bought their tickets and sold out the venue because of those songs, can now see them being delivered in faultless fashion by an incredibly talented group of guys.
The instruments at Garrigan’s fingertips vary as much as the songs themselves as he cycles from tambourine to acoustic to harmonica and mandolin, before swapping again to the keys and delivering a crowd-pleasing version of their biggest hit to date ‘High Hopes’. Also on parade were several new tracks from their forthcoming album In A Perfect World, with ‘All Comes Down To You’ being a particular stand-out.
As if the small venue isn’t intimate enough, the lads leave the stage to perform a campfire acoustic set at the bar, before returning to the stage, this time with Gavin James. Bringing the house down with ‘All I Want’, they successfully round-off an absolute feast of music for the night.
With their debut album almost upon us, it's evident that Kodaline’s journey is only just beginning. It won’t be long before the trip back down the stairs of fame in King Tut’s will be one step longer, as their name is added to the list of bands who have graced this prestigious venue before going on to be massive - Biffy Clyro, Oasis, Snow Patrol to name but a few.