Caught Live: Oceansize – Glasgow King Tut’s

oceansize king tuts

Continuing to play venues far smaller than they deserve to headline,
Oceansize demonstrate their musicianship with an array of tracks
straight out of the musical oven, armed and ready for album number four.

To begin the night though is some post-rock fresh from Yorkshire.
Vessels animate numbers from their debut album “White Fields and Open Devices” which are far more prominent live than on CD, awakening their sound from its sometimes two-dimensional studio recordings.
Post-rock lullabies evolve into a climax of distortion and synth which
prepare the Glasgow audience for an intense evening.

And So I Watch You From Afar fill the venue with screeching guitars and
ignite the room with the gargantuan sounding “Set Guitars To Kill”.
This is Northern-Irish post-rock at its peak in both volume and
innovation, snatching spectators by the throat while the epic ‘The
Voiceless’ leaves King Tut’s wide-eyed and moved. ASIWYFA provide some expected witty Irish banter and give a shout toward new release the ‘Letters E.P.’ followed by a promising demonstration of the content.

Charismatic is the front man of an entirely instrumental band, faced with an audience who yearn to scream along to music. It is no surprise that the four-piece has established such a following with adrenaline-fuelled shows with a stage presence comparable to that of a stampede.

Tonight’s support presents Oceansize with difficult musicianship to
match, but regardless, the Manchurian quintet bring to the table what is expected of them; an awesome performance. Flip back to 2008 and the band are celebrating 10 years of playing together and performing almost every single one of their progressive masterpieces live at their local Manchester Roadhouse. What can be seen on the Feed to Feed box set is succeeded live by witnessing the actual intensity of punch-in-the-face numbers such as ‘A Homage To Shame’ and the pedal-heavy ‘Massive Bereavement’ which despite a far from crystal sound-system, slams ears with full force as the band honour their dynamic back-catalogue. It is immediately noticeable that the fresh songs are less lengthy, less experimental but far harder hitting.

While many frowns are the result of an emphasis on previously
unheard tunes, it is understandable that Oceansize feel the desire to
play a set that is as refreshing for fans as it is for themselves.

Powerhouse Mark Heron is comfortably back behind the drum-kit
following a skin infection which postponed this particular tour. With
an arsenal of truly astounding percussion, Heron reminds fans why a
substitute drummer would not have been sufficient while bassist Steven Hodson splits ears with prominent basslines which rival the creativity of the three duelling guitars.

Standing on a stage which is now 90% pedals, frontman Mike Vennart sips a cheeky glass of red wine and sincerely thanks fans and King Tut’s staff, estimating that tonight is “like the 20th time” they have played here. Vennart’s farewell hints that the band may be phased by soldiering on as an underground progressive rock band; underrated they may be, but Oceansize have a loyal fanbase and the solidarity which has succeeded a decade shows no sign of fading.

Posted on February 24, 2010 | Filed Under Music