Sunday night brought a lively, and mainly youthful crowd to the Ironworks, anticipating the near annual return of Dundee’s favourites, The View.
First though, special mention must go to the support act, Lost City Soul, another Dundee based act with Invergordon connections in front main, Alan Turner. Those assembled were gently warmed by their brand of indie pop prior to the main event, most notably by the soaring Favour The Brave.
Billed as the Bread and Circuses tour, The Dundonians treated us to almost all the tracks on the new album, with a smattering of tracks from Hats Off To The Buskers and Which Bitch?.
The View, walked on with a swagger and kicked off at breakneck speed, and dived into their new single Grace. Equally, on the floor the throng became a sea of bodies with some rising higher than others. The delirium, fueled no doubt my a measure or two of testosterone, did not subside until The View had stormed through Wasted Little DJs and 5 Rebeccas. Only three songs in and the Ironworks was already bouncing.
The small talk was limited and the band let the music do the talking, as they ripped through Blondie, Girl and Resolution. Although it began to ease up a little through the mid-section, The View steeled themselves for a barnstorming finish, setting it up nicely with a cover of The Tweeds “I Need That Record” which is to be released as a single sided 7” single on 16 April for Record Store Day. Then from the first chords of Shock Horror the crowd was sent back into a frenzy, as they closed in on their set. To end the night off, and in keeping with the tour title, the lads treated us to the punchy Underneath The Light, the soaring Best Lasts Forever, and their final song, not just of the album, but also of the night the rather jaunty Witches.
They left with the same swagger that they had strode on with, with the crowd begging for, but not getting, an encore. So its a tribute to The View that they can, in the words of Walt Disney “Always leave them wanting more”. They have come a long way over the years, and their music has a new found maturity. This may explain the only real surprise of the night which was the non-appearance of Same Jeans. They don’t really need it any more, and that in itself tells you how much the View have moved on.
So The View’s annual visit proved how much The View have moved on, and up, and also they do change their jeans.
by Frankie Boy (well done sir!)