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Just a little review of a gig I went to last night at the Tramway in Glasgow.

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What a fantastic line-up.

I got to the Tramway quite late (as you do when you don't get out of bed till after 6), but walked into the hall just as Battles were launching into their first track and I've got to say - I was totally unprepared for what came next. A combination of amazing jazz drumming (with very odd cymbal heights on the kit), guitar and lots of sampling/synths (two of the three guitarists actually played synth simultaneously as they played guitar - impressive), the only way I can think to describe the noise they made is glitchy, electronic-tinged jazz. It sounds bizarre, and I remember asking myself at times what the the hell I was listening to, but overall I was impressed - the beatboxing on one of their tracks was probably about the best I've ever heard! Definitely going to track down some albums and check them out.

Next up was Four Tet, but we were at the bar when he came on and didn't actually realise - oops! That said, I'm not too bothered as I've seen him before and wasn't too impressed with his live set compared to his albums, and from what I was told by people who did see him, it was the same this time too.

So yeah, that just left the main attraction - Sun Ra's Arkestra! By the time the lights went down and the ten or so sequin-gowned funksters marched onstage, a surprising number of people had already left (pesky hipsters only there for four tet no doubt). I've no idea what they were thinking, as they missed by far the best performance of the night - from the virtuoso jazz solos, random members of the band leaving the stage with their instruments and walking amongst the crowd as they were still playing or the impromptu dance performance by one of the sax players, it really was just a fantastic - and fun - gig.

Won't be forgetting this night anytime soon!