Fresh from their set at The Great Escape in Brighton where they were introduced by Steve Lamacq and filmed for BBC Introducing, deadletter were at Glasgow’s Stereo to support Melbourne’s Tropical Fuck Storm. It was the Australian’s band first night of their tour and so all in all expectations were high.
deadletter were hanging out outside the venue before the gig, all very relaxed. Once onstage they are a band who manage to whip up the crowd based on the music rather than much chat, and that is absolutely fine by me. Lead singer Zac Lawrence is charismatic onstage and jumping into the crowd he creates a whirlwind around him. This Glasgow crowd took a while to warm up but with every song the energy was nudged up a bit. Previous singles include ‘Hero’, ‘Pop Culture Connosieur’ and ‘Fit for Work’ and before long there was a moshpit going at the front. There is an intensity to deadletters performance, its like a magic spell being weaved over the crowd which generates more and more energy. Their frenetic, funky songs talk of the desperate state of the nation but there is no preaching from the stage, just the playing of the songs they have created. Asking the crowd to move forward only added to the enjoyment of their set and I have no doubt when deadletter come back to Glasgow in September for their own headline show, they will have some new fans made from tonight.
And so to the main band, Tropical Fuck Storm. This is the first night of their tour and how must they feel with the restrictions due to the pandemic finally being lifted? The Australians faced a packed room by the time they came onstage, and they gave it everything. Perhaps psychedelic indie rock is the best way to describe their music and the floor was literally shaking, the reverb rattling to the very core. The 4-piece play stomping rock with ground shaking bass and thunderous drums. The set never let up. I did have to chuckle at one point when they said “when did Scotland get so hot”!
By the end I was reminded of Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’ in the music. There is nothing better than seeing a band you love playing live. The crowd were loving every second and maters were arm in arm enjoying the music, the whole room full of bobbing heads.
Tropical Fuck Storm played for an hour but when they went off the chants starting immediately. ‘One more tune‘ yelled the crowd, and they got their wish. The 4-piece came back onstage and were absolutely delighted with the response. “Thank you so much for first night of our tour”. The encore was, surprisingly, ‘Staying Alive’ like you have never heard before, and a room full of very happy people left with huge smiles on their faces.
For more information on Tropical Fuck Storm please check out their facebook here
For more information on deadletter please check out their facebook here
