Who rocked Glasgow Barfly? The Answer
With a band going by the moniker of The Answer, the obvious thought is to think, well, what was the original question? Strangely enough, the second song of the night was entitled 'No Questions Asked.' Should a band calling themselves The Answer really have a song called that? Thankfully, any petty questions were quickly forgotten about as the set picked up its pace.
Opening up with an impressive piece of accapella from front man Cormac Neeson, the band launched into 'Never Too Late', an impressive slab of retro rock. The first impression was that this wasn't too surprising as the lead singer looked cast in the same mould as Chris Robinson, Paul Rogers of Free or Robert Plant such was his flowing hair and inability to stay still for a second. There was also the fact that two of the band were kitted out in Motorhead and Kiss t-shirts.
Anytime a band wears clobber like this can only mean one of two things. Firstly, it's a girl group whose stylist has been going mad in TopShop or you have a rock n roll act showing off their credentials. Thankfully, considering the type of crowd that had gathered in the Barfly, it was the latter and the first half of the show was standard rock fare.
The Answer moved effortlessly from fist-pumping the air riff to slow blues licks effortlessly and certainly had the crowd in the palm of their hand. However, just when it was starting to become a tad too predictable, 'Keep Believing' kicked in. Featuring a drum beat and cyclical riff more akin to the guitar acts who blossomed from the late 1980s rave scene and ecstasy culture, it took the show to a higher level. For any younger readers, it was reminiscent of The Music, except this guy could sing.
Later in the set, a cover of Sun House's 'Preaching The Blues' enabled the whole band to shine. The slide guitar was immaculate and as authentically bluesy as you would like, the drums thumped tremendously, again giving the song a looser dancier feel and the bass line bounced continuously. The backing music was topped off by an Irish man bellowing the blues, like only an Irish man can.
The last song before the encore 'Be What You Want' sounded like an extended version of the end section of Guns N Roses 'Rocket Queen', which is an extremely good thing.
From fearing what was going to be a one-dimensional show, The Answer pulled out some unexpected tricks and treats and produced a performance that everyone seemed to enjoy and no doubt will again, when the band return to the UK in May.