Futures

Claire White
3rd July 2012

With a line-up including some of the best in up and coming British bands – Futures, Don Broco and Natives – there was anticipation in the foggy Glasgow air on this cold Tuesday night.

In particular for Natives this tour was a chance to showcase their new sound. Formerly known as ‘Not Advised’, the band have recently relaunched and have previewed their new material via social media websites. During their live set, the transition between each song worked perfectly and the crowd were engaged with the band throughout. With a set full of new songs there wasn’t a lot of energy from the crowd. Despite this, a few eager fans down at the barrier were jumping and singing along to the band’s up and coming single release ‘This Island’. The tour provided a great chance for the band to test their new material and we can confirm that they have certainly not lost their touch.

Don Broco had dedicated fans down at the front which lead singer Rob Damiani acknowledged throughout. The band had a great stage presence communicating with the crowd between each song and during every chorus, even managing to create a small mosh pit in the venue. Despite the smaller crowd size, you could tell the band were playing as if it was to a much larger crowd with full energy and strong stage presence.

The ‘Karma Tour’ for Futures was a chance for the band to showcase new material from their fantastic album release ‘The Karma Album’. It was interesting to see how these songs would transcend from the album to a live set.

Opening with ‘Start A Fire’ was a perfect introduction, a strong way to burst onto the stage and gain everyone’s attention. The band maintained a great stage presence throughout and the transition from album to live was flawless.

Popular songs came in the form of ‘Islands in the Sea’, ‘Indigo’ and ‘Say My Name’.

A few fans were spotted singing along, but unfortunately the crowd were rather unresponsive. It was not until front man Ant West announced the band would sing some older songs from EP ‘The Holiday’ that screams were heard and the jumping began. As ‘The Karma Album’ was only released a few weeks prior to the gig, it seems the crowd had not yet managed to learn all the lyrics.

As the album projects a relaxed feeling, the set provided a very easy-listening gig and with a crowd who were not as responsive, this enhanced the relax feeling more so.

With a mix of transitions and long introductions, the band’s instrumental talent was able to shine through with ease and it was a pity that the Glasgow crowd were not as alive as the reputation they hold. This may have been due to the slower pace of the set, yet more enthusiasm was expected from the young crowd.

‘Karma Satellite’ gave the band the chance to showcase their instrumental talent even more. The song was a very popular choice and a great way to slow the set down to gain the full crowd’s attention. Ant West swapped guitar for keys as the crowd were gripped singing along, it left a very nice touch at the end of the song hearing the crowd along with the band.

Ending the set on ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’ brought the gig in a full circle perfectly. With fans old and new singing along and crowd/band interaction throughout, the song ended the gig on a high with smiling fans all around.

Overall, Futures provided a fantastic set to showcase their new album. The tracks were exactly as recorded and seeing them live added another element to the outstanding release. If the Glasgow crowd had been in their usual spirits, it may have been a better atmosphere but this did not stop the band putting on a fantastic set to showcase their talent with ease. A very underrated band who are certainly ones to watch.