Swmrs

Swmrs

Mar 13

GLASGOW’S ON FIRE

When: 12 March 2019

Where: Saint Luke’s

Support: Zuzu; Destroy Boys; Big Character

Need photo

It is always a mystery to me, but also great pleasure, when a foreign band who have not any hits comes to the UK to be greeted by wildly enthusiastic fans. One of the most dramatic examples of this I have witnessed was Japanese rock band Dir En Grey‘s ecstatic reception at a gig at Koko, London in March 2010 – for me a totally unexpected, wild, full on experience.

And so it was tonight – Swmrs from Oakland California brought the church down at St. Luke’s, their adoring fans singing their lyrics back to them whilst spending the whole gig in a torrent of spontaneous mosh pits. Whilst I enjoyed it hugely it did also make me feel my age!

The support acts were also good but a special mention must go to Destroy Boys who were fantastic – their energy, commitment and sheer enthusiasm was thrilling. And the crowd responded to it with equal amounts of energy and enthusiasm! I may be wrong but I suspect that their presence on the bill may explain the high proportion of teenage girls in the audience. Given the response, I hope they return to Glasgow in the not too distant future as headliners.

Swmrs ( formerly known as Emily’s Army) are in that grand tradition of American pop punk bands (indeed their lead singer’s dad is lead singer with one of its finest proponents, Green Day). They have a good frontman in Cole Becker, who instantly had a rapport with the crowd and came across as a very decent person. Lead vocals on a few tracks a were taken by his brother Max, whose different vocal style added an interesting extra level to the set. And the rest of the band provided high octane, muscular punk pop throughout the set.

For me the standout songs were ‘Miley’, ‘April in Houston’, ‘Figuring It Out’ and the title track from their new album ‘Berkeley’s On Fire’ (see sample video below). But for the happy, bouncing fans I think the whole set was a high.

Band Page

Sample video