The Libertines are a band who are no stranger to controversy which has followed them their entire career, notably this was mostly down to co-frontman Pete Doherty’s very public addiction and brushes with the law. However, the sometimes negative publicity, only went to aid the band’s notoriety and gave them credibility as hellraisers as well as extremely talented musicians.
Luckily for us music fans The Libertines are back together and currently on tour. Tonight, they are playing one of Scotland’s most loved and iconic music venues– The Glasgow Barrowlands.
I wanted to get to the gig nice and early to check out Pynch, the opening support for tonight. This four-piece band from London got a warm welcome from Pete Docherty himself who came on stage to introduce the band.
The crowd at that point were small in numbers (as the doors had just opened) and fans received the added bonus of Docherty who strolled on to the stage and chatted to the audience before introducing Pynch.
The London based band came on stage and wasted no time getting stuck into their set with the singer proudly showed off his Barrowland’s T-Shirt and proclaiming his love for the iconic Glasgow music venue. Pynch played a great set. You can check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/PynchBand/
In-between stage set ups singer songwriter Ed Cosens came on stage and played a couple of songs on his guitar. Cosens will have an album out early next year, so that’s one to watch out for.
Trampolene were also introduced onto the stage by Docherty. The three –piece band from Wales were full of energy and passion as they got stuck into their first number.
Their sound transported me back to the mid 1990 as these guys played their brand of Garage Rock which would have slotted in nicely somewhere between Oasis and Blur. These highly competent musicians played an array of catchy songs.
Their set was over all too soon and they left the stage with the fans wanting more. Take a gander at Trampolene here: https://www.facebook.com/trampoleneofficial/
Ed Cosens came back on to give us a few more numbers. You can check Ed out here https://en-gb.facebook.com/edcosensmusic
So, the time had come and all of a sudden, the great Glasgow Barrowlands was filled to the rafters with fans who were all waiting to see The Libertines play. It had been a long time since I had seen them play, in fact I had not seen them since the early 00s when they had supported the Sex Pistols down in London.
There’s been much water under the bridge since then and they guys have adapted, matured and found their way back into rock n’ roll which we, the public love. We want our Punk and Rock, ballsy, loud and unfiltered! As I stood in the pit, camera at the ready, the band walked on.
Carl and Pete waved to the crowd. I felt a thud on my shoulder and realised that some clown had thrown a pint and I had caught it square on the shoulder…Thank God it was not warm! As the guys got stuck into their first song, I heard the crowd behind me singing the words in unison back to the stage. I turned around and the crowd were going nuts. It’s great to see fans really getting into the music.
The Libertines fed off that energy and played an awesome set, although it was by no means flawless. There were plenty of off-key vocals and dropped guitar parts, but that’s all part of the charm and reality of this band.
All night drummer Gary Powell gave that all important backbone, accompanied by John Hassall on Bass. Hand on heart, this gig was a triumph. The raw energy from the guys really made this gig a memorable one for fans.
Maybe we’ll be hearing some new material in the near future. Let’s hope so. Go check out The Liberties on tour and their fantastic support too. https://www.thelibertines.com
Photos and Review by Steven Scouller
