Fresh from releasing their new record ’11:11’, Dinosaur Pile-Up are back in Glasgow, a few months after supporting Brand New at The Art School, only this time it’s on their own back.
Support comes from local act Artie Ziff and fellow Englishmen Hyena and one thing is obvious from the very first note, we were in for an extremely loud night of grunge rock.
Artie Ziff take to the stage while most of the fairly modest crowd are still downstairs; opening with some indie rock style numbers, they soon leave the room bewildered after a guitar change seemed to bring a whole new math rock style to proceedings.
An erratic mix of enjoyable melodies and Arcane Roots style complexity makes for an exciting and captivating listen.
The drummer is one of the best I’ve seen live of late, his backing vocals and huge rhythms providing the perfect base for the style bending riffs to wash over.
Hyena are up next, the young Telford four-piece have been well received throughout this tour and the crowd slowly grew in the lead up to their set.
It is immediately easy to see why Dinosaur Pile Up had brought them along for the ride; their huge QOTSA type sound soon empties the downstairs bar as people are drawn in by the noise coming from these young lads.
The whole set sits just on the right side of chaotic, which was fantastic to watch as the band really blew the cobwebs off the quiet crowd and leave the, eager for our headliners.
By the time Dinosaur Pile-Up hit the stage, the crowd are packed to the front like sardines.
I don’t think there is a louder three-piece in the world just now; from the first ribcage rattling note to the last, they ooze the kind of confidence and swagger that only comes from releasing yet another banger of a record.
Cherry picking songs from their three full length records, the band soon have everyone nodding and singing along in unison.
Tut’s lends itself perfectly to this kind of no nonsense rock gig, the drums and bass reverberate off every wall, nearly knocking you over with every thunderous note.
Set highlight ‘White T-shirt and Jeans’ sounds fantastic live, the dual vocal harmonies filling and lifting the room.
The 90s influence cannot be ignored, but Dinosaur Pile-Up pull it off without coming across as lazy or overly nostalgic, no mean feat given the amount of 90s revival bands now on the scene.
Words: Andy McGonigle
