Spirits are riding higher than Shell’s latest profits as The Snuts give it everything and more at Glasgow’s O2 Academy on what’s arguably the biggest night of their tour.
As expected, a youthful rowdiness pervades the crowd but it’s all in good humour and to be honest it’s pretty heart warming to hear all those chants of “f**k the Tories” from such a youth-heavy bunch before Whitburn’s finest even take to the stage.
The Snuts’ new album Burn The Empire is more politically-charged than first release WL, looking at the corruption which eats into our lives and how we can challenge this as we seek a more equal society. As vocalist and guitarist Jack Cochrane, bassist Callum Wilson, guitarist Joe McGillveray and drummer Jordon Mackay take up their spots, the mood is set with graffiti-backed projections of protests and soundbites from trailblazers such as Emmeline Pankhurst and Martin Luther King Jr, the band aiming to show the way for a generation who’ve never experienced the nation in such a state of discontent.
The furious set kicks off with a track from the new album as Cochrane’s soulful intones on the unifying Pigeons In New York build to a rollicking Snuts singalong. The band are behind their fans all the way and never appear to forget where the come from…not that they’d be allowed to! But from capping ticket prices to successfully campaigning for Parlophone to release their latest album before the start of this tour, thus enabling fans to get the most from the gigs, these guys clearly do give a damn. And #releasetherecord appears to have paid off spectacularly tonight with a large part of the ever-vocal crowd fluent in every one of the album’s tracks aired (which I think is all bar one).
The Snuts have said in the past that they write their songs with audience interaction in mind and there’s no better example than on the punchy pop of next number, Glasgow, from 2021’s chart-topping WL, the chanting and pint flinging already hitting fever pitch. They return to Burn The Empire with latest single Knuckles, before Cochrane tells us “the next song is very f***ing easy, and you’re going to help me sing it”, blasting into the ‘La la la la la la la, olé’ of blazing anthem The Rodeo. Keeping up momentum, WL’s Always shows the band’s emotional edge, McGillveray’s guitar hook drawing in the crowd as Cochrane’s vocals captivate.
The tone is finally lowered as Cochrane introduces 13, about a boy from their hometown who took the life of another man, telling us “the song is trying to ask questions about why things like this are happening…extreme violence, extreme poverty, extreme drugs problems across towns around Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, Manchester…” adding “we’re the next generation so we need to come together and start screaming about this…” before telling us that they’re going to “bring it down, you guys are going to shut the f**k up for maybe three minutes and then we’ll start the party again.” Everyone does as they’re told and the stripped down number plays out beautifully.
Later, the party once more in full swing, the unabashed swagger of All Your Friends invokes a raucous reaction. Echoing an early Arctic Monkeys’ groove, whenever I hear Wilson’s bruising baseline I picture a bedraggled teenage Liam Williams and gang na na na-ing their way though town on BBC’s Ladhood. Although perfect as it is, we’re treated to an upgraded version of the track, mashed into Gorillaz’ Feel Good Inc., but that’s not all as the awesome big Bemz, one of tonight’s support acts, bounds on to the stage and raps it out for the remainder, the wee Snuts lads dwarfed by his presence as the audience bounces off the walls. Superb!
I figure they’ve surely peaked by this point but nope, they’ve still got a few beauties up their sleeves including the unruly finery of Don’t Forget It (Punk), a finger up to your favourite band, themselves included, and set closer End Of The Road which sees tonight’s other support act Heidi Curtis well-chipper as she fills Rachel Chinorouri’s boot’s nicely.
As The Snuts take to the stage for the encore under the piercing waves of an eerie siren, their rallying cry is let loose one last time during protest song Burn The Empire, Cochrane telling us “Glasgow it’s f**king simple, f**k the Tories”. A Tony Benn sample tells us “First of all frighten people and secondly, demoralise them…An educated, healthy and confident nation is harder to govern” before Mackay’s racing drums demand attention as smug mug-shots of our ruling class morph into each other, revealing demonic heads, the crowd chanting along to “no f**king way man, there’s no f**king way”. With the forked tongues of Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss now illuminating the screen, their evil eyes spew fire as devils’ horns adorn their heads. Perhaps Sunak could’ve devoured Truss in the end, but the way things are going, he may also be gone by the band’s last show on Friday in Inverness…the anticipation must be killing The Snuts’ set designer. Oh, and Burn The Empire also happens to be a riotous wee tune! Lightening up and topping off the evening in perfect feel-good style, they play out with the pulsing grooves of Fatboy Slim.
These lads are making fantastic use of their position to inform and enrage, and tonight deliver a flawless and ferocious piece of top-notch entertainment. Keep at it guys, we need the likes of you more than ever!
The Snuts continue to spread the word with shows in Belfast and Dublin in November and Dunfermline’s PJ Molloys in December.
Words: Shirley Mack @musingsbymarie
Pictures: Calum Mackintosh @ayecandyphotography