Arkells are widely considered one of the most passionate, exuberant and in-demand live bands working today. As radio mainstays, sports-sync shoe-ins and curious students of culture, Arkells have remained ever present – building awareness and personal community experiences around their live shows and new music at every turn. Arkells continue to unleash new music and international tour dates in support of their BLINK ONCE & BLINK TWICE acclaimed companion albums. So naturally, we had to take up an offer of seeing them live!!
The Arkells rocked out Glasgow’s West End on Tuesday night, playing an early night gig at the Oran Mor where Byers Road meets the Botanic Gardens. Opened by Lights, the gig had an eclectic mix of fluid music from the Canadian born Electropop artist featuring both fast and slow paced tunes to set the mood.
The Arkells themselves commandeered the stage around 8.45 pm and burst into action with a great opening sequence that didn’t dwindle.
Also playing a varied selection of originals, the start of their gig was reminiscent of Fall Out Boy’s B side songs for instrument control and their lead singer seemed to borrow undertones that reminded me of Ed Sheeran’s more upbeat songs.
However, it didn’t take long for their Canadian spirit to come out in full force when a dedicated fan that had travelled from Thurso (over 400 miles) to see them perform was invited onto the stage for a duet.
This theme of fan appreciation continued throughout the gig with a soon to be married couple getting invited on stage for an unofficial, impromptu first dance rehearsal to their favourite song.
For a Tuesday night gig, Max Kerman did a fantastic job of hyping up the crowd and making it feel like a Friday night headline at the Barrowlands.
Cameos proved to be a mainstay for the gig with Lights returning for a duet later in the night that injected a higher pitch to the distinct sound of The Arkells for a brief time. This worked wonderfully for the song choice and to keep the crowd engaged.
Towards the end of the gig, their music style shifted into more garage rock and punk that reminded me of The Black Keys with their El Camino album fused with Fall Out Boy’s more popular style of the mid-to-late 2000s.
Overall, the gig was varied, upbeat, entertaining, and was a well-rounded performance. Keeping an eye out for future tickets is definitely on my to-do list.
BLINK ONCE / TWICE 2022 TOUR (Still to Play):
Sept 30 – Halifax, NS – Scotiabank Centre w/ Lights
Oct 20 – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre w/ K.Flay
Oct 22 – Grande Prairie, AB – Bonnetts Energy Centre w/ K.Flay
Oct 25 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena w/ K.Flay
Oct 28 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome w/ K.Flay
Oct 29 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place w/ K.Flay
Nov 24 – Ottawa, ON – TD Arena w/ Joel Plaskett Emergency
Author: Stewart Storrar
Stewart Storrar is a filmmaker and writer based in Glasgow Scotland. Currently studying a BA in Media and Communications, he also runs two YouTube channels and his own, online publication. Stewart aims to being people stories that will stay with them for a lifetime.
