A review of Vigo Thieves supported by William Freeman and Peruvia at the Caberfeidh Bar in Elgin on the 22nd of June, 2013.
We were promised an intimate gig and an intimate gig is exactly what was delivered last night for Vigo Thieves at the Caberfeidh Bar in Elgin. Think of a small, very crowded pub with a raised platform for a stage – come dance floor – which looked like it could cave in at any minute with all the revellers jumping on it and you have a perfect picture of the scene.
Support came in the form of local acts William Freeman and Peruvia. William took to the stage first with the daunting task of playing in front of the rowdy crowd by himself, however he handled this with grace and played a set of melodic guitar tunes with lyrics that are clearly personal to him. He truly captured the attention of many with his distinctive vocals and every song was a pleasure to listen to.
Playing music from beyond years, Peruvia got everyone up on their feet and joining in with their set. Their set included some of their own work as well as covers of classics, such as opening song “My Generation” by The Who and The Beatles’ “Twist n Shout.” There’s no denying they know their way around their instruments as they truly set the mood for the rest of the evening.
Vigo Thieves were next up, but not before a rendition of “Flower of Scotland” was played on the bagpipes to welcome them to Elgin – it was their very own Stone Roses moment.
From the very start of their set they had full interaction from the crowd who adoringly sang along with every word with singer, Stevie Jukes. New single “Believe
The remainder of the set continued with the vibe of feel good songs with big impact chorus’ which really got the crowd going, blowing the roof off the venue. They have a catalogue of tunes that could easily become the anthems of our times.
“Heartbeats” was easily one of the highlights of the night as it got a massive reaction from the crowd who were hanging on to every note being played. The song was used as the theme tune for last year’s T In The Park, therefore is one of their more recognisable songs. It’s filled with all of their trademark up tempo guitar riffs, keys, heavy drums and strong lyrics.
They then prompted to “start a war” by getting everyone up on their feet for the final song, which saw them raising the roof for yet another massive sing-a-long moment. With reactions like this, it truly is a wonder why they’re still an unsigned band. It is, however, very clear why they’ve been named “the hottest unsigned band in Scotland.”
After their energy filled set Stevie said: “It was really good, definitely different – but this is the kind of thing you have to do. You have to build up your fan base by playing in smaller venues first before you can think about getting signed.”
If one thing tonight shows, it’s that they won’t be playing these small venues for much longer as they’re destined for much more. They have a very original and quirky sound that we don’t hear so often these days and they have a very bright future ahead of them.
