Gig Review

Oedipus and The Mamas Boys set the record for the largest band I have seen on the Tuts stage coming in at eight members. Their sound and energy however are just as large the band. Similar to my recent review of San Jose it’s a hard sound to pin down to a genre, enough jazz to be psychedelic but not really, a hint of Americana thrown in maybe? Fat White Family meets Fat Dog.
Whatever it is, it’s incredibly fun. Their new single ‘Stretched/Kitchens’ was to be released at midnight and the band disagree on whether that counts as tonight or tomorrow. It starts with a rare tender and quiet period before building into an emotional and noiseful crescendo. It was one of those sets that ended with a buzz of people who were excited to have just found their new favourite band.
Gig Review
...Next up it was a hotly anticipated set from the gloriously rambunctious Oedipus and the Mamas Boy on the eve of the release of their second single Stretched/Kitchens, the follow up to their remarkable debut Bleed which appears on the New Sound of Scotland CD currently in production. The band are an enigma of sorts in that the music they produce almost defies description, in a good way of course. Their performance on the tightly packed Tuts stage was one of finely controlled chaos with 8 musicians on stage – with 2 guitars, a bass, fiddle, synth, saxophone, trumpet and drums, add to that effects pedals galore and you had the makings of something pretty damned special. There is something about the band that has me recalling gigs of old by the likes of Fat White Family and The Blinders, such is the intensity to the bands sound, one that gives an impression that things could explode at any point, and indeed they did on several occasions, and none more so than on their epic new single, the aforementioned Stretched/Kitchens, kicking off with gentle vocals from Gemima backed by Charlie against a backdrop of an empathetic minimalistic arrangement of melancholic fiddle and guitar/bass before the song explodes into a beautifully discordant melee, like the release of fervent pent up energy, while Gemima and Charlie’s vocals shone though the glorious noise. And that was the band just getting warmed up, the rest of their set was a celebration of everything that is great about seeing young bands passionate about their music ply trade in grassroots venues, with Charlie and Co. throwing everything into their performance, including forays into the crowd and distributing glow sticks, they were hyperactive to the max as they performed riotous versions of H.O.T.S. and Cowboy Song before the perfect closing salvo of the chant-along Free My Body Up and Kill Bill. Get along to an Oedipus show at the earliest opportunity, trust me you'll thank me later.