QMU, 11/09/18
On the night of Tuesday 11th of September, our very own QMU was rocked by the explosive guitar-and-drums combo of Honeyblood, who were supported by fellow Glasgow bands Lucia and Life Model. As part of Freshers Week 2018, the Scottish duo provided entertainment for a flock of freshers, hurtling through a hard-hitting setlist.
With our ears still ringing from the honey-glazed guitar-pop of Lucia, Honeyblood strode onto the famous Qudos stage, which so many of their heroes have stood on. They managed to make it their own, in spite of a smaller crowd than would have been optimal for such a gig. Undaunted, the band opened with the stomping ‘Justine, Misery Queen’ from their second album Babes Never Die, stirring up the QMU congregation of freshers and an enthusiastic bunch of red-shirted QMU helpers in the middle of the crowd. Through ‘Choker’ and ‘Love is a Disease’, Stina Tweeddale and Cat Myers upped the ante, reaching almost a mini-climax in ‘Super Rat’ – one of the most enthusiastically received songs which rather ironically gives the chorus line is “I will hate you forever”.
There was a slight cooldown for a few less popular songs from the second album. Although most Honeyblood crowds love ‘Walking at Midnight’, it was given a lukewarm reaction from the crowd, which was quickly reversed by ‘All Dragged Up’. Tweeddale didn’t speak much to the crowd, but when she introduced this song she called it ‘a song you can jump up and down to’ – an invitation readily accepted by the crowd. Rattling through the rest of the setlist, Honeyblood exploded into ‘Ready for the Magic’, leaving the stage to cries of ‘QM till I die’ from the helpers on the floor and on the balcony, prompting a return from the band where we discover that Stina, during her time at Glasgow Uni, was part of the QMU. For old times’ sake, Honeyblood closed with an encore of ‘Fall Forever’, the swooning opener to their 2013 debut, rarely played live.
While it may not have been the busiest gig ever, or have been the best gig ever, Honeyblood know how to produce on a big stage, and provided a great night of tunes – it’s just a shame more people couldn’t have been there to take in the atmosphere and watch Honeyblood rock the QMU
[Gabriel Rutherford – @niemalsallein_]
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