Last night, playing to a sold out crowd of eager Seattleites, Scottish quartet
We Were Promised Jetpacks took the stage at
Neumos. On the ticket stub, it read the show was for Frightened Rabbit: fellow Scottish indie rockers. For me, however, the real headliners of the night were the four Glaswegian transplants from Edinburgh who provided the first of three sets. And while these Scotsmen are - as they put it so nicely - younger than the Ghostbusters, you never would have guessed it when the band kicked off their set with "It's Thunder And It's Lightning", the first track off WWPJ's solid debut
These Four Walls. To have only been touring for little over a year, you might have expected higher levels of timidity. This was not the case.
It really helped that the crowd was so into the band - you could tell that the whole group was feeding off the energy in the room. Much thanks needs to be given to local radio station
KEXP, for they are greatly responsible for the exposure of WWPJ to the Pacific Northwest. Back before the band had even signed to
FatCat Records, when there was only the 3-song self-titled EP available, KEXP first aired "Quiet Little Voices" as the "song of the day". In fact, that's how I learned of these guys
over a year ago.
And you could tell that the crowd was familiar with "Quiet Little Voices" based on the amount of cheers given to lead singer Adam Thompson when he announced that "the next song is really good" and that "if you don't like it, you should probably take a step outside" (said in a thick Scottish brogue). As soon as the opening riff was played, a sea of movement took over Neumos' main floor. After the killer a rendition of "Voices", an emotionally charged "Ships With Holes Will Sink" immediately followed, which in my opinion was the best song of the night. Other highlights included "Keeping Warm" which showcased the charging album-version introduction, as well as the cathartic performance of the night closer "Short Bursts."
I can't really do the band justice by describing how great WWPJ sound live. These guys are performers, and they have a live show which cannot be captured on recordings. While
These Four Walls is a great album, the live version is miles beyond. It's only a matter a time before these guys break though into US popularity. Until then, keep your eyes peeled for a show near you. Tour dates and a setlist of the night (which I think is correct) are posted at the bottom.
"It's Thunder and It's Lightning" / "Ships With Holes Will Sink"
