Yonaka, "Welcome To My House" Tour, SWG3 TV Studios, Glasgow. Monday 25th March, 2024

I am now officially an old man. This was the first time I felt the gig belonged to a different generation—the "Sertraline Generation", epitomised by piercings, tattoos, dyed hair, and sad eyes. Not that I felt unwelcome or unsafe - other adults were present accompanying their teenage daughters - but when the support act instructs the audience to open up a mosh pit, and they willingly comply, the space taking up almost the entire dancefloor, it's time to walk away. I felt like a fringe wallflower, watching as four males bounced about, knocking into one another like trainee wrestlers. I must have missed that dance class.  

This mosh nonsense upset my usual routine, where I plant myself in my carefully selected spot for optimum viewing. With every reset, as people returned to the middle, new tall people or phone wankers landed in front of me. I was well out of my comfort zone.

The first support act was Mimi Barks. She erupted onto the stage in what, to me, looked like a gimp costume: all in black leather with a spiky hood and mask. She screamed, swore, kicked and headbanged like a teenager who needs therapy. Her music is the audible equivalent of a tantrum. Before she left the stage, she finished by telling us, "Fuck you." Not "Thank you", as a polite young woman would say. 

I am not her demographic market.

The second act was Noisy, a wannabe Prodigy-style combo. They were quite good, the frontman establishing his credentials early on with some fine rapping. His constant instructions, like an irritating DJ, grated after a while - "Make some fucking noise", "That's what I'm talking about", "Put your hands in the air", oh, and "Fuck Monday" (middle finger raised in the air). He engaged his audience, though, even coming down into the crowd, getting everyone to crouch down mid-song so they could all jump in the air together. I resisted. My knees and back are too far gone for all that nonsense. 

Or so I thought.

Yonaka shone tonight. Theresa Jarvis can actually sing (not just scream or rap). She has quite a presence on stage, and the crowd loved her. The males in the band are quite striking, too. The place totally rocked. 

For one song, Theresa also came into the crowd, skipping around the mosh pit, and then gestured for everyone to crouch. This time, practically everyone complied, leaving me and about three others still standing. So I had to creak down, wondering if my back would let me back up again. Fortunately, the music was so loud that no one could hear the ooof sound I made as I rose. 

I'd love to see Yonaka again in a larger venue where the moshpit didn't take up the bulk of the audience space. I'd also like to hear them play for longer. The gig finished just after 10 instead of the advertised 10.30, perhaps so their younger audience could catch public transport home again. It was a school night, after all. (However, most of the audience was older than that).

Ticket Price: £25 plus fees (£64 for the pair, plus souvenir ticket).

Setlist:

By the Time You’re Reading This (link to YouTube video)

Greedy

Punch Bag

Call Me a Saint

Creature

Don't Wait 'Til Tomorrow

Hands Off My Money

PANIC

Welcome to My House

I Want More

Give Me My Halo (Acoustic)

PREDATOR

Clique

Rockstar

Encore:

Seize the Power (link to YouTube video).

Photos 

Branded

 

Judah & The Lion, SWG3, Glasgow. Friday 29th Nov, 2019

Judah & The Lion hail from Tennessee and first came to my attention when they supported Kaleo at the Barrowlands. That night they blew away the main act with their energetic, fun performance. When I realised they were coming back, I knew I had to see them again (I didn't realise they'd already been back in July, playing King Tut's at the very start of this tour).

The gig was supposed to be at The Art School but was transferred to SWG3 in Glasgow's west end. I had never been to this particular venue before and wasn't sure how easy it would be to park nearby so snagged a brightly-lit space outside a local gym, opting to walk the rest of the way. We were running late so I didn't want to risk having to drive around to find a closer space. Then, as we approached the venue, we saw loads of empty parking bays. I began to wonder if the gig had been cancelled. 

The street was deserted. I would normally expect a stream of latecomers flowing towards the venue but the only people in sight were a gaggle of girls smoking outside plus a lone security person checking the tickets. We could hear that an indistinct din from inside telling us the support act had already started. 

Climbing a couple of staircases we entered a warehouse-like space with a low ceiling, visible beams supporting the floor above. The room was divided by a curtain, in front of which was the control desk, with the bar area behind it. The audience was sparse but that is not unusual for a support act. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the music. 

Sara 'N' Junbug are a young Scottish four-piece pop band with catchy songs and a fun attitude. I liked the twenty minutes that I caught and would go see them again. Maybe. They come across better live than they do in their youtube videos.

I wasn't overly alarmed by the small audience. However, at 8.20 pm, when the intro to 'Pep Talk' blasted out and there still weren't many more people, I was dismayed. It was a small crowd with lots of empty space.  

Judah & the Lion didn't disappoint though. They put in a varied and energetic performance, full of charisma and charm. Frontman Judah did his best to bring the crowd closer and engage them in singalongs and hand waving, even getting them dancing. Everyone looked like they were having a great time. It was just a shame there were so few people. They deserve a bigger audience.

As well as tracks from their latest album, 'Pep Talks', they played covers such as Blink-182's 'All the Small Things' and Tom Petty's I won't Back Down', plus their rendition of 'Loch Lomond' and an original Tennessee hillbilly tune that I don't recall the name of.


The lighting was a little in-your-face because of the low ceiling, with the spotlights regularly blinding me. They made good use of the massive glitter ball though.    

They finished their hour with the anthem, 'Take It All Back'. I recorded it on my phone but stopped the video early not expecting the lead singer to jump into the crowd to continue the song. That video file was too large to load here so the file below is the very end of the concert. It captures some of energy and warmth of their performance.