Kneecap at Saint Lukes, Glasgow : Four Gigs in 24 Hours, and the Race to Number One - SNACK: Music, film, arts and culture magazine for Scotland

    Kneecap at Saint Lukes, Glasgow : Four Gigs in 24 Hours, and the Race to Number One

    The band Kneecap performing live on stage at St Luke's. The stage is illuminated by intense red lighting and heavy atmospheric smoke. In the background, a large, illuminated stained glass window is flanked by a pipe organ on the left and a balcony with audience members on the right. On stage, a DJ stands behind a desk on the left, while two vocalists are at the front; one in a hooded jacket and sunglasses gestures outwards, and the other stands to the right in dark clothing holding a microphone.

    ‘How amazing would it be to have an album called ‘Fenian’ number one in the UK charts?’ shouts Mo Chara to the Glasgow crowd. ‘Keir Starmer would be fuming’.

    Kneecap’s ‘late’ set tonight is the fourth Glasgow show in 24 hours, having played a matinee and follow up show at the Garage yesterday, before today’s two gigs at Saint Lukes.

    It’s a cunning ploy to enhance the bands chances of a number one album, with fans having the option to include vinyl or CDs with their ticket purchases. 

    Having been at the Garage matinee performance and again tonight, it doesn’t matter what time of the day you catch a band like Kneecap, the Glasgow crowd absolutely lap up every second.

    The short setlist is top heavy with new material, Fenian was only released a matter of days ago but the tracks are well received regardless.

    Between songs the band plug the gaps with political discussion: from a free Ireland, to Scotland’s missed opportunity of independence, to the more pressing matter of the situation in Palestine. Mo Chara uses his podium to state that Benjamin Netanyahu is a genocidal war criminal, prompting an emotional ‘Free, free Palestine’ from the audience. 

    The more familiar tracks ‘The Recap’ and ‘H.O.O.D’ creates the biggest response from the crowd with a massive mosh pit of balaclava-wearing Glaswegians giving it laldy. Móglaí Bap responds in awe: ‘there’s nothing quite like a Glasgow crowd is there’. 

    Whether Kneecap ever play gigs this intimate again we can only hope but the fact they sold out the Hydro last winter suggests it’s unlikely. Time will tell whether these gigs will help the band get that much desired number one!

    The band Kneecap performing live at St Luke's. The stage is filled with smoke and lit by red spotlights. A large, brightly lit stained glass window is visible directly behind the performers. On stage, a DJ is partially obscured by smoke behind a desk on the left. In the centre, a vocalist in a hooded jacket faces a second vocalist to the right, who is dressed in dark clothing and holding a microphone. Silhouettes of audience members are visible in the foreground and on the balcony to the right.

    Fenian is out now, via Heavenly Recordings

    Photo credit: Lee-Anne McGuire

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