Stag And Dagger 2013

This year marks the fifth running of Glasgow’s multi-venue Stag & Dagger festival. Fortunately, on a filthy day with the rain pouring down almost relentlessly, the festival has now coalesced around a phalanx of venues on Sauchiehall Street.

The hothouse basement bunker of Broadcast is the hubbub for most of the event’s promising acts. Local trio Baby Strange provide a fittingly dark and gloomy punk assault as the night begins to draw in. Taking their cues from the darker sound of nihilistic drugged out rock - say, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, or Primal Scream at their most visceral - the trio rattle through their set with satisfying reckless abandon.

You have to feel a little bit sorry for Sean Nicholas Savage who has the onerous task of following the well-supported group. He takes to the stage for his soundcheck with all of six people in the room. He proceeds to fill this time with a gloriously off-key rendition of Aerosmith’s ‘I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing’. Those hardy souls that are present are witness to a curiously tender moment. A small crowd picks up for his set in full with is one of the more curious performances of the festival. Flanked by a haphazard keyboard player and nothing else, the imposing figure of Savage takes to the stage in a suit, which he gradually takes off revealing a fetching floral dress. You’re never quite sure if he is entirely serious, such is the theatrical nature of his performance amidst knowing winks and quips. There’s no disputing the passion in his voice though as he croons ‘She Looks Just Like You’ in his best 80s soul voice. His force of personality is more than enough to win over the crowd.

The venue is full to burst for Kettering psych pop band Temples. Perhaps they were a bit cowed by the rapturous crowd as their set of engaging melodic rock fails to really take off. Still, there is promise enough here to suggest that they are capturing such an audience for a very good reason.

Mac DeMarco is a man who has no such problems taking off. His performance is chaotic, slapdash but oddly compelling. Songs from his acclaimed second album ‘2’ are dispensed with carefree abandon as his band engage with the audience and a general air of bonhomie abounds. Diving into the crowd at the end of a celebratory ‘Still Together’, Mac is perfectly at ease with his first experience of a Glasgow audience. His performance goes down a treat.

Over at the salubrious CCA (Centre For Contemporary Arts) across the street, things are far less rowdy for the heartfelt soul baring R&B laments of Tom Krell, aka How To Dress Well. It’s hard to understate just how special his performance is. Accompanied by some striking visual projections. Krell waves a little bit of magic as his voice flutters, swoops and soars over the minimal beats and live violin. This performance is the work of a true sonic auteur. He demands all the lights are turned off aside from one spotlight while he advises the sound engineer that certain songs need to be so loud that you feel it bursting out of your chest. The passion in his voice and performance is met by reverence by the enraptured audience, and the soaring crescendo of final track ’Set It Right’ is a truly special moment.