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Shimmer live at Box, Saturday 13th March 2010

15 Mar 2010
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Shimmer live at Box, Saturday 13th March 2010

Shimmer had a lot of subtleties going on which may or may not have been lost on 99% of people in attendance, but what they also had was a bunch of good songs

Heading straight for the sound engineer upon arrival at Box, I learned that, with regards to this evening’s running order, things were ‘a bit all over the place’. Not a surprise when you try to run a seven (7) band bill, but to be fair, Box does what it says on the box; providing a free platform for bands to cut their teeth in the heart of Glasgow, and seeing as how it’s Sauchiehall Street on a Saturday night, there are bound to be punters there to impress.

Glasgow 6 piece Shimmer take to the stage at 25 past 11, and the narrow corridor between the bar and the seats in Box is packed. From the back of the room, my eyes tell me that Shimmer have a keyboard, guitars, cymbals, and that they are attempting three part vocal harmonies. However, as these most noble of musical pursuits fall into the same general frequency range as mixed gender drunken ‘conversation’, they are lost on me until song number 3 when I make my way to the front of the room. ‘Got My Attention’ was well named, particularly when Craig McFadyen launched into a paint-stripping guitar solo halfway through.

Dynamic appeared to be a constant factor in Shimmer’s writing; these guys clearly know how to build a song. There set is cut short somewhat by our ever more hurried friend in the control booth; however, songs 4 and 5 of their set heighten the excitement even further amongst their vocal following. ‘Heaven’s Fallen’ is classic singalong material. Not for the first time in their short set, bassist Paul Duffy is throwing his instrument around like a rag doll in a manner which makes his intricate basslines all the more impressive. Shimmer’s closing number, which I did not catch the name of, is another lesson in building the mood of a song; the drummer’s dextrous left foot adding a lot to the groove.

Shimmer had a lot of subtleties going on which may or may not have been lost on 99% of people in attendance, but what they also had was a bunch of good songs, so, the recommendation from your humble correspondant would be to check them out in slightly less manic surroundings, and you can do just that at Nice N’ Sleazy on the 27th of March.

Reviewer - Christopher Rodger

 

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Review - Shimmer live at Box, Saturday 13th March 2010 - Glasgowmusic.co.uk