The View, Fruition, Antec Sonata - 9th August 2006
Reviewed by Martin Stapleton / Pictures by Suzy Cook
There is a buzz around the venue tonight which suggests that everyone present is expecting something a little bit special. The near sell-out crowd have obviously been enticed by the recent relentless hype that these four young Dundee lads have generated. That The View has began their debut headline tour at Esquires should be considered a real coup for promoters The Roar Club and with famous connections including Pete Doherty, Noel Gallagher, Mani and Bobby Gillespie, the tough early fences that normally face a band in the early stages of their career have been completely flattened in their charge into the big time! Is it deserved, or just a lot of hype and luck? Well, on tonight's performance, perhaps a bit of both.
The View have a natural stage presence - cocky, confident and assured. Their thick Scottish accents makes it hard to understand them at times, but it seems amicable and friendly as their devout fans loyally and incessantly chant 'The View, The View, The View are on Fire!'. But what of the songs? The obvious stand-out is the ultimate Disc Jockey put-down since Morrissey and Marr extolled the virtues of bringing back public execution for Dave Lee Travis and Simon Bates some twenty years ago. It's called 'Wasted Little DJs' and it's already a classic pop tune - a rich swirl of pure adrenalin soaked youthful exuberance somewhat reminiscent of The Only Ones 'Another Girl, Another Planet'. Tonight it naturally receives the loudest acknowledgement but it actually acts as a watershed for the set as I though pre 'Wasted Little DJs' The View were actually a little bit tepid and dull. However, the second half of the set was vibrant, exciting and played with real venom. Kyle (resplendent in a fetching Panama hat), Peter, Kieran and Steve had by the end of the evening managed to get everybody to party, mixing snappy and catchy hooks with bucketloads of attitude. Are these young guitar-slingers that future stars of the latter part of this decade? That's anyone's guess but I've got a feeling it is going to be fun finding out!
Support tonight comes firstly from Antec Sonata who, due to missing their holiday bound bass player, re-arranged their line-up to include Barbs on guitar with Jamie temporarily filling in on drums. Their instrumental and epic finale was the stand out of song of their set and arguably the evening - totally spaced out, blistering and dynamic.
Main support were Fruition who were last seen here supporting The Rifles. They were richly entertaining that night and once again they don't disappoint. It's vibrant and bouncy sing-a-long pop-punk from the opening 'All Over Again' to the last strains of 'I've Got to Break Free' from the excellent 'Cavin' In', all brought to life by Peter Dayer-Smith's taut vocals and solid support from the rest of the band. Fruition are becoming a welcome sight at Esquires.
