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Tonight' s support act The Duke Special have a singer who sounds occasionally like Brian Molko, half of their instruments are made of the crap you’d find in your garage, and their backing singer/general dogsbody gives off a serious Clockwork Orange vibe. None of this might sound particularly appealing, and hearing that the singer looks like a cross between Sam from The Bravery and the bloke with the mouldy dreadlocks from NoFX might just finish any inclination you have for them. But this would be a mistake, because the band are fun: the paraphernalia scattered all over the stage alone is enough to keep your attention, and the drummer (who is at least 100) spends very little time behind his actual drum kit because he’s away playing some crazy contraption with a bell and a mini washboard attached. The songs are delicate and pretty, if a little repetitive, but there’s some serious potential, and definite originality.
Hal are probably one of the top five least likely bands to play in Moshulu, Aberdeen’s only metal club, since they’re so indie it’s shocking. They only need a piano and a plump singer and they’d be Keane. Sort of. Watching the band is entertaining for the first few songs simply for the confusion of trying to work out whether their bassist is a boy or a girl. He’s a boy. We think. But sadly, this is more or less the full extent of the entertainment on offer from Hal. Whilst there’s nothing wrong with the band or their songs, after the obscure quirkiness of The Duke Special, Hal seem rather insipid. Songs such as 'Don't Come Running' 'What A Lovely Dance' and have very little in the way of variety, and the set of only forty-five minutes drags. The audience are quiet and static. There are perhaps a maximum of fifty or sixty people present, including a middle aged couple sitting surrounded by their shopping. Half the problem with this gig is that it’s clearly been booked in the wrong venue. Hal would perhaps be well received in a quiet pub or the Music Hall, but here they’re out of place, and it shows.
