Audio, set in one of the shadiest parts of the city centre, is not exactly the worst venue Glasgow has to offer, but it’s definitely one of them. Upon entering, I’m hit full force with a heat that reeks of beer, crap cider and sweat. I missed out on Twin Heart as I expected I would, but I have arrived in time for Servant Sun, and I’m a little sorry about that. The guitars are far too loud while the vocals are nowhere near loud enough. Isn’t there a venue anywhere that gets it right? I’m starting to have my doubts about that. It’s a mixture of good singing and dreadful attempts at screaming. Some folk can get away with it, but by the sounds of this, Servant Sun can’t. It’s likely work well instrumentally, though. That being said, the imbalance in sound could well be doing them a massive disservice.
The bar and venue is rammed with people, all chattering and semi-shouting over each other. As this is another Home Town gig, I’m not expecting things to improve once the music starts. A chord is struck from an instrument I can’t see and it brings out a loud cheer from the crowd, only for them to be told to calm down. And the next moment, the band have vanished. This means there’ll either be a grand re-entrance or they’ll sneak onto the stage when people least expect it. Either way, they’ve earned it. The cheer from the crowd when they do make a reappearance is a little disappointing, all things considered.
Above the chatter (that has died down a little for now) begins something small that gradually grows into something unstoppable. I’ll be honest at this point, my notes on the opening track are pretty much non-existent. This is because Halo Tora are unbelievably gifted at stunning their audiences, and tonight is no different. With this being their Album Launch gig (their debut album released the day before), you could probably bet spirits would be high, but in all honesty, right now I don’t know what’s wrong with this crowd. But we won’t dwell on things like this; Halo Tora make is very easy to concentrate on the sounds coming from all around and nothing else. One glance around the room and the majority of people are doing exactly that. I once described Halo Tora’s sound a few years back as being akin to drowning in it, and the same is still true right this very moment.
Three tracks in (or maybe four, I’ve lost track of time and everything else entirely), Halo Tora seem to have completely immobilised and hypnotised the crowd – very few bands have this ability. On the one hand, it’s impressive and on the other hand utterly impractical if you’re trying to concentrate and work at the same time! Apparently the gig sold out six weeks in advance and judging by this, it’s little wonder.
‘Tonight’, taken from the album, has a very delicate intro led by keys. Unfortunately, this invites the chatter. I’d hoped for better, although I knew full well what would happen in reality. The vocals are much more in the forefront. For a reason I have no real explanation for, this strikes me as them being at their most vulnerable. I say this because it seems to me that everything that makes Halo Tora so darn special is laid bare, exposed. But no sooner has this thought crossed my mind, Halo Tora immediately go all out and change the picture entirely, baring another part of their soul in the process.
A new song, going by the working title of ‘Spider’, is the first of two new songs played back to back (the second having no title yet). The first managed to retain the poise and punch of a typical Halo Tora track whilst going for a more uptempo sound. I can’t help it; I feel so incredibly proud of them, having seen them play to barely a dozen people in the past, and now they’re selling out venues weeks ahead. As it so happens, this and the subsequent new track, go down very well with the crowd. Approximately halfway through the gig, we’re told that the gig is being filmed, and there are five cameras dotted around the venue. Oh, good. So my ‘concentrating very hard’ face will have been captured on film already. I wonder, just for a moment, if the crowd reaction to Halo Tora might be different now that they know they’re being watched by Big Brother. It doesn’t look like it, and I confess myself disappointed.
‘Needles’ has one of those small, slight beginnings that brings out the talkers in the room, meaning hearing the band is much harder than it should be. Thankfully, there’s a random guy in front of me who’s offering up hand signals and signs to each every flutter and beat of sound, which comes in rather useful, believe it or not! The song winds up in epic proportions in the blink of an eye, and suddenly it’s all “Crowd? What crowd?” Speaking of the crowd, though, they’re instructed to sing the intro to ‘Under The Surface’, although barely half of them comply with such a request. What the Hell, Glasgow? What is wrong with you? It’s a Friday, it’s the weekend and you’re at a Halo Tora show, who are as spectacular as ever and this is how you repay them for it? Somebody somewhere tries to get a “Here we fucking go” started, but it falls flat almost immediately. The crowd might be a little on the disappointing side, but they do show their appreciation well enough at the end of each track, although it’s taken them pretty much the entire night to get there.
Lead vocalist, guitarist and all-round nice chap Chris calls for quiet and I can’t help myself but think out loud “Yeah, good luck with that…” and as expected, the crowd murmurs throughout, with the odd “Sssh!” thrown in for good measure. The highlight? A lone flame from a lighter goes up somewhere in the middle section, soon joined by a second flame. It’s a very nice touch and makes a welcome change to the iPad and the Selfie. Closing with recent single and video ‘Age of Terror’, the crowd are once more given strict instruction to “please go fucking nuts”. This time there’s a small pocket of folk who are giving it everything they’ve got – as they have for most of the night. It’s a real pity that nobody else is following suit. Almost every hand is in the air, though, so that’s something, I guess, albeit rather short lived. The whole affair ends with Chris hurling himself into the lacklustre crowd while I’m at the back praying he doesn’t hit the floor. Thankfully he makes it back safely onto the stage once more.
Halo Tora give it all they have and are every single time and at every single show, it’s just a shame the crowd didn’t reciprocate this time around.
