Page 46 - Black Velvet Issue 90

BV90 pg46_BV90 pg46 19/09/2016 01:26 Page 1

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YYYYY Excellent YYYY Very Good YYY Good
YY Listenable, Just Y Poor

TWIN ATLANTIC / ALL TVVINS - LONDON SCALA 12.07.16
Dublin’s All Tvvins are opening the
gig tonight, immediately supplying some
catchy guitar riffs and bass hooks that
pique the crowd’s interest. The songs
are big and filled to the brim with sum-
mery vibes and big-hearted hooks, but
as the set goes on their lack of stage
presence becomes apparent. It’s inoffen-
sive indie rock music, and the crowd
seem to be enjoying it to some extent but
we can’t help feel like there’s something
missing. Nevertheless, it’s a nice relax-
ing start to the evening.
This is a special gig, considering
how in the past year we’ve seen Twin At-
lantic headline arenas and sub the sec-
ond stage at Download Festival. So
we’re not surprised when the room is
completely packed out, and everywhere
from the main floor to the balcony and
the staircase are rammed with people.
Twin Atlantic storm onto the stage to new
single ‘Gold Elephant: Cherry Alligator';
it’s a bit of a jarring opener, being a lot
more raw and brash than what we’re
used to from Twin Atlantic. When ‘The
Ghost Of Eddie’ and ‘Hold On’ kick in, it
feels a bit more familiar and the crowd
really start to get into it. Frontman Sam
McTrusty races around the stage with
his hood up; he knows exactly how to
ramp up a crowd and by ‘I Am An Animal’
they’re eating out of the palm of his
hand.
‘No Sleep’ is the biggest surprise of
the night, injecting so much energy into
the room and getting such a frantic re-
sponse that you’d be shocked to hear it’s
a brand new song. Sam climbs all over
the crowd, and everyone’s screaming
the words to the raucous chorus at the
top of their lungs. Twin Atlantic manage
to create a setlist full of big hitters, and
between the anthemic ‘Fall Into The
Party’ and soaring ‘Free’ there’s not a
dull moment. ‘Crash Land’ really stands
out, with Barry McKenna creating heav-
enly harmonies on the violin, and the
emotionally charged room singing each
and every lyric. Sam just stands on
stage in awe, basking in the moment. He
expresses his gratitude, and tells the
crowd it’s incredible “to get to come to
the Big Smoke and have people care”.
The passion that Twin Atlantic put
into their shows is truly reflected back at
them by the audience, who put every bit
of energy they have left into encore
songs ‘Brothers And Sisters’ and ‘Heart
And Soul’. Mass sing-alongs ensue, and
with one last belter of a chorus, the night
has come to an end. While we love see-
ing Twin Atlantic in an intimate venue like
Scala, it’s clear that they’ve outgrown it.
These four lads from Glasgow really are
destined for bigger things.
YYYYY
Carissa Thorne

Sam McTrusty (Twin Atlantic)
Photo By Carissa Thorne

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