Vice ruins Good Books
The Vice tour has been zipping about the country recently in an attempt to bring some new bands to the fore and bring awareness of the magazine. In theory, that's the story behind it but on arriving in the Arches on a sodden Friday night, this almost seemed like an afterthought. When gig tickets are handed out to students and shoppers from certain stores, there is the impression that the night is far more about branding and reaching particular consumers, as opposed to breaking new bands.
And it was with this backdrop that Good Books found themselves on stage but at least in lead singers Max Cooke and his white shirt, skinny tie combination had a look that the fashionistas would approve of.
Recent single 'Leni' sparked some life from the young crowd but it was a brief respite for them from discussing which brand of lipstick would match their outfit (male and females) or of when the next cool electro track would be played by the DJ?
The bass was pulsating throughout and the band had a nervous energy about them, similar to early Bloc Party and in a different venue and with a different crowd, it could really have kicked off but as it was, there just seemed like a partition between band and crowd and the whole set didn't communicate across as strongly as hoped. That certainly wasn't the bands fault and its hard to judge the band in such a sterile environment for a band. As a night it probably achieved all the aims by introducing new bands to a young audience and created brand awareness and links between some of the sponsors and the audience but as a gig, there will be many better nights for Good Books ahead.