#woahnows

There's a lot to be said for the importance of venue choice in the feel and, more importantly, success of a show. 

Take Muncie Girls at King Tut's a few weeks ago: on the theoretical pre-tour checklist they hit a lot of the right notes. With two cracking UK acts in tow as supports, the lineup is strong; hype is more than sufficient after bookings from festival giants Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds in the summer.

But for all my love of the Glasgow institution, the Hut was a misstep on this occasion.

Filled not even to a quarter capacity and populated mostly by members of the tour crew and local punk staples it's a crying shame to see. Because for all its lack of significant audience, the gig is a hell of a time.

Opener Happy Accidents sound the way a band raised on UK indie and Jeff Rosenstock might, putting familiar themes of uncertainty and discomfort to peppy Jamie T-esque guitar and vocal work. They attempt to get the crowd involved with limited results - nobody seems to have much to say about the Botanic Gardens but a cheery suggestion to check the view from the top of the Cineworld proves an amusing distraction. Edinburgh's got a castle? Bah, we've got a bloody tall cinema. 

Woahnows are next on the bill touting a setlist busting at the seams with new tracks. They're fast and full of bass, stumbling now and then with the lack of practice fresh tunes often do, but saved every time by pure charisma. The introduction to one (about "dickhead guys being dickhead guys and being gross to girls") leads to a declaration of love from frontman Parker to his bandmates, while another is preluded by a snippet of 5ive's ‘Slam Dunk Da Funk’. Whether this was rehearsed or not I couldn't tell you but I'm willing to bet no, and I'm certain it was magic either way.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are headliners, Muncie Girls. They play straight from track to track with barely any chat in between and the occasional long, awkward silence. There's a particularly extensive one of these before a quiet song about 'single mothers surviving on the welfare state' - not an experience piece but a heartfelt one nonetheless. Lande Hekt has a delicate voice, sweet whilst still resonant enough to avoid being saccharine, and drummer Luke Ellis is an absolute animal. I'd go so far as to say set closer 'Respect' is worth the ticket price off its own back, an earworm so relentless I'm still humming it on the bus to work.  

But "Thanks for sticking around... You could have gone home" is never a pleasant thing to hear from a band. I'm sure it's not particularly fun for them to have to say either. Based on those few hours, I can see a triumphant return to a busier room some day in the near future.