Dauphin

It’s gone very cold the last two nights in Edinburgh; seeing your breath crystallise in the air is a pretty average sight but tonight, it billows out in ghostly white gouts. So the heating in Sneaky Pete’s, usually turned up to eleven, is comforting. I’m here to see Cameo Colours and two other bands; Dirty Boots and Glasgow’s John Wean.

Dirty Boots are a loud threepiece act, pummelling their way through a set that, overall, is enjoyable – though they’re very unpolished. They don’t quite seem to have their lineup decided, because the lead singer and guitarist keep switching guitar and vocal duties; this saps away some of the consistency behind the tracks. I think they probably remind me most of Canadian punk/rock band Harvey Danger.

Next up are Cameo Colours, whose excellent debut EP I reviewed a while back. Live they’re heavier and crunchier, but in the best way. Although my ear drums are still aching from Dirty Boots stomping all over them, this weight fills out tracks like Cameo Colours, Start As You Mean To Go On and Magician. I pick up a free copy of the aforementioned EP after their set at the merchandise table – which is packaged, as you can see above, in a colouring-in book. I made my octopus purple, but I decided against blueing-in the sea (I didn’t want to ruin their navy felt tip and the bouncer was looking at me like I was odd).

John Wean are a four-man platoon who play very good, if not terribly cutting edge, indie rock. Very good because the guitar riffs, lyrical hooks and overall performance was spot-on – you could imagine them hitting bigger venues than this right out of the ball park. Not terribly cutting edge because they were singing about girls and nights out and managed to fit a guitar solo into some songs that didn’t necessarily need them, sort of like the Pigeon Detectives.

Highlight of the night? Colouring in.