Shitdisco

Arriving to a city full of “Sh Disco” posters (the IT was taken out after complaints), Glasgow’s latest punk-funkers hit the Dundee Reading Rooms on a sunny Dundee evening, a night perfect for a bit of live music and a dance.

Opening are Fifers State Of Affairs, like a hybrid of The Fall, Green Day, Idlewild and Television, they manage to burst through another very tight set, including their excellent cover of the Buzzcocks “Ever Fallen In Love”.

After an incredible performance in the Arbroath Viewfield on Monday, this gig shows up a big problem – they aren’t the best at winning over a tough crowd. At the start of their set, I counted a grand total of 27 people in the room to watch the performance, and after the first song, a guitar was out of tune. Whilst this was being sorted, there was an uncomfortable mix of silence and poor attempts to fill the gap and get any sort of excitement out of the crowd.

This, however, does not cover up the bands talent. They blast through a flawless performance tonight, some songs would be good enough to be played at bigger venues (“You’re Not Listening” in particular is excellent). With a bit of work and a more consistent set of songs, the sky’s their limit – who knows, they might even be able to draw 100 people next time.

Full credit to the drunken heckler too, after their lead singer told the crowd “We’ve only got two songs left”, only to be interrupted by a loud “PLAY THREE!”.

Unfortunately, this reviewer seems to have a bit of a curse. On any three-band bill I attend, the second band always seems to disappoint. This pattern happens again, this time with the Trash Superstars, like a clone of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but more like the No! No! Nooooos!

Their songs (such as “New York” or “Killer Cow”) do nothing new or interesting, following an obvious formula. Their frontwoman prowls around the stage in exactly in the same way as Karen O, but you know, without the ability, sass or charm. Some people stay to watch the rest, many opted to go through to the bar.

The one big shame about tonight is that Shitdisco did not attract a large crowd, probably around 150-200 people in total. They are a band that deserve attention, after all, they tick all the boxes required for a fun band. Cowbells? Check. Dodgy facial hair? Check. Impressive taste in hats? Check.

This is a group with no pretention about them, which distinguishes themselves from many other bands in the same genre. If the Rapture are drinking champagne and quaffing smoked salmon vol-au-vants before being driven off to some celebrity pad, Shitdisco are enjoying a kebab and a pint before nipping off to the local nightclub.

The music, however, does live up to a high standard, and works a lot better than on the CD. Pounding basslines blare out over funky drumbeats, with staccato guitar somehow merging it all together.

Blasting through “I Know Kung Fu” (one of their strongest tracks, if not their strongest) early on gets a reaction of flailing limbs, there is very little chance of dancing normally to the band – the music itself can be bizarre at times – a mix of seemingly random stabbing guitar pulsating over the catchiest bass you could imagine.

“Disco Blood” (the title track off of their now sold out debut EP, also downloadable from their Myspace site) appears nearer the end of their short 35 minute set, followed by “After Show Party” and an encore of a different version of “I Know Kung Fu” (which sounds like an awful choice, but works well). Not one person is stood still at the end – the movements are not voluntary, first of all your foot starts tapping, then your heads nodding, then you begin to lose control of the rest of your body, and it doesn’t matter how stupid you look – everyone else is doing it!

You have to question if the band could keep up the set for longer than 35-40 minutes, they are all over the stage, jumping on drumkits and amps, and are drenched in sweat by the end, and so are the crowd.

Although it’s a shame that Shitdisco aren’t yet attracting big crowds, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. They are in danger of becoming a hype band or a scenester band, and this would mean larger venues, and longer sets, and the length and imtimacy tonight feels just right – almost like a secret club that nobody outside the walls of the place should know about. No, they aren't going to headline Glastonbury, but you wouldn’t want it any other way.

FUTURE GIGS

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