Live review: Errors

Thursday 25 February
Grand Ole Opry, Glasgow

There's something very refreshing about being in a Glasgow venue where you still get more than six quid change from a tenner for two drinks.

The Grand Ole Opry might be a bit of a weird setting - neon-ringed cowboys gaze down at the crowd and the walls are painted with the wide blue skies of the plains, cactii and cowboy boots - but you can't argue it's not value for money. Plus it has a very decent sound system and a big wide stage perfect for loading up as many gadgets as Errors can manage between them.

First up are the mindbending Moon Unit (kind of the band live version of Nackt Insecten) and the poptastic Copy Haho - a strange contrast to each other and both offering a side to what Errors are about; some parts expansive exploration and other parts tightly-reined pop.

Tonight is all about new album Come Down With Me, and dropping things like 'Toes' and 'Salut France' early in the set keeps the audience happy and dancing but frees the band up to showcase more of album number two as they go along.

It's all welcomed warmly, to the apparent surprise of the band's Stephen Livingstone, who still has a good line in endearingly awkward banter. He spouts his thanks to the crowd for coming out on "such a bogging night" and promises to warm us up. Easy now.

The band are more comfortable when they're just getting down to it and their new material gives them plenty to play with. Trademark glasses and Davy Crockett hats are lost in the fray as they absorb themselves in the tunes.

Fingers fly over keyboards, laptops and fretboards, and at one point Livingstone, hands otherwise occupied, even uses his teeth on some pedal or other. (How that affects the sound isn't abundantly clear but let's be honest, it looks cool.) They even throw in some extreme cowbelling (on top of an amp with a guitar jack) for good measure.

Under the warm glow of the neon cowboys, Errors shine. They've delivered the perfect shot of anticipation to the album's release - not to mention good value for money.

Words: Elaine Liddle
Photos: Tomas Hermoso

Come Down With Me is out now on Rock Action records.

Elaine Liddle: My tip for 2010

I find it hard to explain quite how much I loved Aereogramme. But simply put, it was a sad, sad day when they played their last gig.

So when a little item appeared on a Chemikal Underground mailout earlier this year along the lines of "Craig B's been working on some new stuff", it was like a whacking great jolt of excitement.

The Unwinding Hours, as you'll know from their UtR profile in November, is a new project from Craig B and Iain Cook, debuting at Celtic Connections Chemikal showcase on 31 January; just typing those words brings a buzz to my fingers.

I can't pretend to know if they will make it big, but I do feel they fully deserve to.

The Unwinding Hours: Knut


Who is your tip for 2010? Comment now or forever hold your peace...

Elaine Liddle: My gig of 2009

Nackt Insecten supporting Fuck Buttons, Stereo, Glasgow
24 September

There are countless acts I just knew I would love even before the gig that I could have written about in this slot; so I've picked one which surprised me.

From the little I knew about Nackt Insecten, I was certainly intrigued (this is a guy who did a noise set on the Glasgow Subway, after all) but I didn't expect to be particularly enamoured. Not that I felt I'd hate Ruaradidh Sanachen's work, just that it didn't seem quite for me.

How totally wrong I was. The songs - or rather, very long soundscapes - were indeed a bizarre mash of sound, but they were also breathtaking. They also had the added element of other band members - notably Galchen's Peter Kelly on drums - which lifted them up and made them just work in a live context.

That surprise, the freshness, and the downright hypnotic effect of this particular set makes it stand out so clearly from the rest.

Elaine Liddle: My band of 2009

[Photo: Luke Joyce]

In the first of a series of blog posts in which UtR writers pick their favourite bands and gigs of 2009, and tip acts to look out for in 2010, Elaine Liddle plumps for a band who we featured back in August

They might have been officially around since 2006 - but 2009 was the year I finally began to love Brother Louis Collective. Before January they were one of those names I'd heard in the general chatter, always assumed I'd quite enjoy, but then been distracted by something else before I remembered to investigate them. Then I saw them live and it all started to make sense – so I came back for more.

In case you didn't catch their UtR profile, BLC's music is folky but not too folky, sweet but not saccharine. Put simply, they write good songs about love and life.

A high point in the bunch of times I saw them perform this year was - bizarrely for an accomplished six-piece band - the stripped down version at the Strike the Colours album launch in Stereo. Having apparently stepped in at the last minute, and without half the band, they nevertheless pulled off an engaging and entertaining set.

Recent Brother Louis Collective blogging promises that their very first album will be out early next year (so I guess I'm not *too* late in catching up with them). Ten tracks recorded at Chem 19 with Paul Savage certainly mean there will be more to look forward to in 2010.

BLC - Barren Years


BLC - Squealing Pigs