So I was more than excited when I heard that not only would Air Traffic tread the stages of Glasgow again, but this time it would be in a more intimate venue The Queen Margaret Union, part of Glasgow University.
Air Traffic arrived on stage to a spoken word sample intro... urging us to learn from the past, from this they jump into first song 'Take Your Hands Off Me'. Chris Wall jumps from the keyboard sitting in centre stage to pick up his guitar and soon the band are storming into 'Get In Line' setting a frantic pace for what most thought would be a laid back show. This reflected in the shedding of his jacket, and the obligatory "All right Glasgow!" before hitting us with single 'Just Abuse Me', adding a spice of tambourine action to the proceedings.
By this time the audience were, in parts, lapping it up. Not everyone was in the Air Traffic spirit it seemed, but this was not to dispel those who found themselves mesmerised by the performance. 'I Can't Understand' left us in no doubt of Wall's vocal and musical talent. The mellow blue stage lights accentuating the mood as we relive the madness of the intense scrutiny placed upon the band whilst inundated with media attention and pressure back when starting out on the road to success.
New song 'Cut My Heart In Two' is instantly heavier and slowly the non believers in the crowd start to bob their heads in time with the music. Blasts of red and white, from what was a fairly simple and understated backdrop and light show, pulsate over every member of the band and stream out into the crowd. As this ends and the keyboard starts up again the masses know what is next and start to sing the first lines of 'Time Goes By'. Everyone in unison, cameras and phones in the air adding a subtle candle light effect, not a body stood still as we all feel the chorus rushing through us as Wall delivers a simply gorgeous song. We feel it tingling our nerves, the thrashing guitars, smooth tickling of the keys, achingly melodic voice, a chaotic mixture which has an elegant finish and leaves some so overcome with excitement that security, for the first time, have to step in to calm things.
The pace never falters and we rush from 'I Like That' straight into 'An End To All Our Problems' and from this into the touching 'No More Running Away'. For this the band display their multi talented selves in a new light drummer David Ryan Jordan moves to a keyboard, guitarist Tom Pritchard and bassist James Maddock move to play 2 large drums on either side of Wall. A nice move and a great result in this flawless song.
As they grace the stage for the encore we all await Shooting Star' and the crowd go wild as another sea of mobile phones and cameras appear. The crowd surfing continues as the guitar solo builds us into a frenzy and with that the band leave us on a high. It has hard to imagine Air Traffic continuing to play such small venues. If they continue to deliver the type of performance we witnessed tonight they are certainly heading for the dizzy heights and Air Traffic will be unstoppable.
The evening was one of excellence. The show was far more than I, and I am sure many others, expected. It was quite a journey and one that we all reviewed in our minds as we left the venue, still humming our highlights of the night. Air Traffic had come to impress, and achieved their aim. It was a showcase of outstanding musical abilities and at the end of their set they had all agreeing. Those, who in the early stages, stood motionless, were all left breathless. They too had succumbed to the charm of the Bournemouth lads after the classy set and sheer effort put in to entertain us.
Set List:
Take Your Hands Off Me
Get In Line
Just Abuse Me
Cant Go Back
I Cant Understand
Cut My Heat In Two
Time Goes By
I Like That
An End To All Our Problems
No More Running Away
Come On
Never Even Told Me Her Name
Charlotte
Empty Space
Shooting Star
article by: Karen Rennie
published: 28/01/2008 12:37
FUTURE GIGS
sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.