On a warm but overcast afternoon, I made my way down to Irvine to see my favourite band perform an acoustic set at the Harbour Arts Centre. There was loads of free parking nearby, and I was one of the first to get in. I chose to sit in the second row (I'm not sure why—shyness, perhaps). The view was still great, as it is an intimate venue with seating on three sides.
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| Image cribbed from the Freckfest FB page |
The support act was Pistol Daisys, performing as a trio with backing tracks enhancing the music. They sounded okay, with good harmonies between the two girls, who both played guitar and took turns on lead vocals. One song was inspired by seeing someone finding pleasure in a public park, while another was about getting dumped by phone while performing at a French music festival.
The first surprise when GUN appeared was that Paul wasn't on drums, instead drafting in a young lad called Rory (spelling?). To make up for that disappointment, though, we also got both Andy and Ruaraidh to complete the five-piece band (the pair were absent on some of the other dates).
With it being a matinee performance, the atmosphere was relaxed. When punters wandered off to the bar or toilets, Dante would poke fun at them. The banter between the two GUN brothers was classic. At one point, they became distracted from their affectionate bickering by the conversation of the other two (about Dante's bass guitar not being as good as Andy's), much to Dante's mock annoyance. Joolz would often ramble on before songs, telling us how lovely they were, much to Dante's exasperation. At another time, I thought we were going to get a JD Vance/ Zelensky situation when Jools insisted that Dante thank the audience for coming. He refused, saying he'd speak to us all individually in private after the show, not from the stage. I loved that they were excited about playing twice on the same day because it meant they got their tea there.
The sound in the Harbour Arts Centre was excellent (except when Dante accidentally turned off his mic and thought it was broken). It was an enjoyable gig. I didn't take too many pictures and only one video, preferring to experience the gig in the moment.
I would happily have done it all again (if I'd had a ticket for the evening show). I didn't wait to speak to the band at the merch stall afterwards (they hadn't appeared yet as I left, and there was quite a crowd); instead, I headed to Vanilla Joes for an ice cream before heading home (two scoops, one of real Italian pistachio and one of white chocolate cookie dough, if you must know). Yummy, but it melted quicker than I could lick. That'll be the jeans going in the wash.
Ticket Price: £27.50 Face value plus £2.75 fees = £30.25 from Gigantic (the barcode wouldn't scan but
Steal Your Fire
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| Thank you to the gentleman who let me take a picture of the setlist |
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