Give it a Name in Glasgow - Live Review!

GIVE IT A NAME
Glasgow SECC - April 29th

New York's self-described industrial jungle pussy punk, Mindless Self Indulgence, blast the crowd with frenzied fervour in the day's most energetic performance. They'll stop short of nothing to wow or offend - confrontational rock with boundaries blasted, as shown by overtly-gay themes flying in the face of phobics, lyrics relentlessly dissecting suicide and paedophilia, and a dying breed of frontman in the hilarious "Little Jimmy Urine", who likes to drop his trousers. Fast drums, big backbeats, hard-edged guitar and some jaggy-rap vocals thrown into the melting pot - oh, and two seriously sexy ladies handling bass and drums. Big thumbs up!

Not to be outdone by her MSI counterpart, Juliette & The Licks leader Juliette Lewis is as potty as they come. The Natural Born Killers actress-turned-rocker is provocative and sexual, commanding the stage as only a crazy woman can - any thought that she's simply playing at this rockstar thing is quickly quashed as she fires round the stage relentlessly blasting out scathing renditions of "Hot Kiss" and "Sticky Honey" - sonic punk replete with purring vocals - alongside big fan-fave anthem "You're Speaking My Language".

Quitting pop-punksters Busted to carve out a niche in post-hardcore rock was a massive step for Charlie Simpson - that said, the difference has been quite minimal as his crowd switch from pre-pubescent faux-punk rockers to the production-line emo kids that frequent shows like Give It A Name. He and his band Fightstar certainly have to battle hard to be taken seriously - Simpson growls his way through a set of biting guitar and crunching percussion, wrestling with sorrowful subjects and a genuine heartiness that underlines his real love for good heavy music. The explosive "Palahniuk's Laughter" is a mosh-baiting anthem that rumbles us into a fury.

George Pettit strips in preparation for a set that'll rock solid from start to finish, whipping his t-shirt off to reveal a hairy chest-rug more Borat than Iggy Pop - put it away, man! Like a good cop v bad cop routine, guitarist pin-up Dallas Green's soft melodic vocals tussle with Pettit's polar-opposite noise explosions as the band tear through "Accidents", "44 Caliber Love Letter" and other choice snippets from their fiery catalogue, as if to tell Fightstar "This is how post-hardcore's done". Alexisonfire are experts in this noise, and with skinny jeans slung low the crowd revel in an audience with the masters.

Forthcoming album "Puzzle" is produced by 'GGGarth' Richardson (Rage Against The Machine), mixed by Andy Wallace (Nirvana) and dripping in orchestral and choir arrangements performed by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra - never ones to rest on their laurels, Biffy Clyro continue to shove the envelope in heretofore unseen directions. Ever-touring at the forefront of Scottish rock's assault on music, they keep things fresh tonight by opening the attack with recent single "Saturday Superhouse", a first Glasgow airing of new epic "Living is a Problem Because Everything Dies", and myriad other "Puzzle" songs that demonstrate just how fond they are of really wonderful choruses. No time for Christmas release "Semi-Mental" because they've had to make room for classics "Justboy" and finale "Glitter and Trauma". How do three scruffy lads make such awe-inspiring, room-filling noise? Biffy's complex, aggressive pop-rock shifts through every gear of their musical arsenal in tonight's best set.

Bert McCracken, the first of two reasons that teenage girls have written all over their faces tonight - what a disappointment for any parent, to see your daughter out and about with "The Used" and "I love Bert" etched on her face. The man in question wastes no time announcing his presence, heaving his mic stand into the crowd just 30 seconds into the first song, splitting a girl's head open - nice. With "Box Full of Sharp Objects", "All That I've Got" and "The Taste of Ink", The Used play it safe and inspire karaoke on a grand scale - dipping into new efforts like "The Bird and The Worm", they show a bold new style that moves away from the forsaken screamo genre into the territories of awesomely heavy rock.

What's worse than having "I love Bert" on your napper? Answer - "Fuck me Ville Valo". This cringe-worthy mob and their self-styled Love Metal divide opinion like the Red Sea. Of course, there's no denying that highlights "Buried Alive By Love" and "The Sacrament" are bloody good tunes - it's just whether you can look past the screaming girls and Ville's silly posturing. The Finns air a sneak-peak of their next album in "Dead Lover's Lane", guitarist Mikko Lindström hitting all the right spots with a sweet solo. Rounding off a night with massive tracks like "Soul On Fire" - the crowd eating out of their hands as kids from front to back scream along and hope that Ville looks their way - HIM Finnish in style (excuse the pun) as only a headliner can.

Graeme Johnston