Sometimes the best gigs are the ones you discover completely on instinct.
Looking for something to do on a Saturday night, I came across a show at PJ Molloys in Dunfermline featuring Domiciles, Vlure and The Harlans. I liked what I heard online, thought it looked promising and persuaded Emma to come along. As it turned out, that hunch couldn’t have been much better.
One of the things I’ve always enjoyed about smaller venues is that there is nowhere for a band to hide. There are no giant video screens, no elaborate stage production and no expensive distractions. If the music is good, everyone knows it. If it isn’t, everyone knows that too. Fortunately, this was one of those nights where everything seemed to click.
The first sign that the evening was going to be memorable came during The Harlans’ set. At some point they launched into a version of Comfortably Numb and I may have become slightly overexcited. In fact, I lost the run of myself completely. Afterwards, the band told me it was their first gig together and that they had enjoyed my “interaction” with the performance. Whether that was genuine praise or a diplomatic way of saying I was behaving like a lunatic remains open to debate.
It was around this point that Emma finally realised what attending gigs with me can actually involve.
If she thought things were calming down, she was very much mistaken. When Vlure took to the stage, their explosive mix of electronic beats, punk attitude and raw energy transformed the room. Before long I found myself pogoing alongside the singer in the middle of the crowd while Emma looked on, no doubt questioning several life decisions that had led her to this moment.
To her credit, she stayed.
By the time Domiciles appeared, the evening had already exceeded expectations, but they still managed to raise the bar. They arrived, took control of the room and completely justified the trip to Dunfermline. There’s a particular satisfaction that comes from taking a chance on a band and discovering that they’re every bit as good live as you’d hoped they would be.
Looking back, this concert perfectly captures why I continue to seek out smaller gigs. No famous headliners, no huge venue and no great expectations — just a collection of talented bands, a packed room and one of those nights where everything falls into place.
Most importantly, it finally gave Emma a proper understanding of just how mental I can become when live music really grabs hold of me.
The videos and photographs below capture some of the evening. The rest is probably best left to the memories of those who witnessed it first-hand.
The Photos
Cheers!
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