Hip Parade's Sal gives it some!
It’s not often that I get butterflies before a gig, but after backing the four lovely Scottish lads in Hip Parade ever since they graced my screens on Orange Unsigned Act I have just loved them.
It’s true that there are hoards of great bands coming out of Scotland at the moment, cue Biffy Clyro, Frightened Rabbit and Twin Atlantic; but Hip Parade have that little bit of extra star quality, something a bit different.
It’s nice when you get to a gig and the band makes the effort to chat to everyone there and despite being on TV for the past couple of months, swish and stylish front man Rob Shah, sweet little Dave Flavell, incredibly cool bassist Sal Shah and hot rock star drummer Kris McDines make the effort to speak to each and every person that turned up to see them play.
As their set begins someone screams; “you were robbed…†yeah love, you’re bound to say that aren’t you? I’d bet you’d say exactly the same thing to Scarlet Harlots, or tell Tommy Reilly he deserved to win, pah!
But as the set progresses you see things from these guys that you wouldn’t see on TV, the energy that radiates from the four of them is amazing, and you can feel the love between these guys more than ever.
Its great to see a band interact with each other and the crowd so well, it’s a sight I rarely see these days as I see signed bands playing the Academy and Apollo; there is something very intimate about this place, this gig, this night, despite the fact that my eardrums feel like they’re going to explode.
That said, Hip Parade are a band that would pack out Manchester Academy and still sound amazing; their presence dominates every corner of The Garret for their short but sweet set.
Granted it isn’t without it’s technical glitches and as the band are steaming drunk, it might not be their finest performance to date; and they might have pissed off the venue owners by trashing the stage at the end of the set as they leapt about hugging and pulling each other to the floor… but hey, it’s all in a days work for rock and roll stars right?
Overall, for a band I had been waiting ages to see, it was well worth the wait, and it was one of the most enjoyable gigs my little boots had been to in a long time; and their dedication of Girl On The Radio to yours truly was a bit exciting!
So if you hear the sound of bagpipes and see the flash of tartan in your local live music venue,; you need to get your sexy little faces down to check out these boys before they get massive and only play your local Arena!
Even if your ears are completely broken and for some mental reason you‘re not a fan; they’re possibly the most delicious looking rock band on the scene right now… so get your eyes out of the bottom of that pint glass and feast them on something with a real percentage.
Oh and one more thing; I agree, these boys were robbed.