Barrowlands, Glasgow
Sept 13th, 2024
The Glasgow Barrowlands were host last night to a great concert by a home-grown band called The LaFontaines. The huge venue had an electric vibe as support act, Kerr Mercer, set a very cool atmosphere thro’his own unique take on folk rock. After a lively set of 6 or so songs from Kerr’s 3-piece, and some solo material, the vibrations from the stage were ready for the next band of this musically generous night called ‘Slix’.
The buzz rose as Lafontaine’s gig got closer, as the next band, Slix, played loudly, fusing musical genres of rock and a great many others, all slam dunked into greatly anthemic music from a 5-piece band.
The great indoor Barrowland’s audience then welcomed the fabulous, edgy rock of their favourite band, The LaFontaines, who with exciting energy sparked into action. Their history as a band is an interesting one, having come from Scotland’s Motherwell they formed in 2008, inspired by the freedom of music especially around their youth, to play their first gig at the well-placed King Tuts Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow.
As their band’s name started to circulate the scene – I had heard of them before their music-, they played many gigs and became a formidable live act. On this night they played to their fullest, with Kerr Okan’s vocal a great mixture of a rock anthemics, cutting lyrics, and a very playfully fun take on things, all delivered with the consummate ease and the energy of a great front man.
We were treated to a very highly tuned act playing at their best and most experienced, controlling a fountain of energy to spray into the beautifully lit room, and up into to its high ceiling. As for me, I enjoyed just taking in a new music, and witnessing how much, in the steamy atmosphere, the many fans around me absolutely loved it.
While the song-writing was folky, the guitar’s amp was up with overdrive, and the drums played that great rock, the vibe also had these cool disco tempos and rhythms to really drive home the sound and the good vibes therein. A fantastic band in a fantastic venue = a fantastic night.
Daniel Donnelly
themumble.uk 