Going Out #8 with The Chords UK

For a provincial town Kilmarnock (Ayrshire) consistently punches above its weight when it comes to attracting bands to play.

Happy Mondays are coming, TheLibertines too, but at a grass roots level it is the Bellfield Tavern - a bar that sits outside of the town centre - that flies the flag for live entertainment.

The Rezillos, Wendy James, Space, Neville Staple, and more, have all performed under its roof to capacity crowds.

On paper the concept of an off the beaten track pub attracting artists who have graced much larger stages, and enjoyed critically acclaimed careers, doesn’t look like it would work, but in reality the bar keeps knocking it out of the park as music fans from the surrounding areas will heartily attest to.

Latest to play were mod revivalists The Chords UK, but to be fair calling them mod revivalists doesn’t really cut it as for all intents and purposes their show, which lent heavily on the material from their latest album, was a far cry from a nostalgia trip.

It’s doubtful that Chris Pope will ever sit at a bar with a pint in hand and bore anyone with tales of glory days.

When the band hit their stride they sound like the Kinks with the fire of the Clash fuelling them.

It’s an evergreen wall of sound.

Lyrically adept and passionate in their delivery the band push hard, very hard, and expect the audience to respond in kind, and they do.

Pints held aloft, clenched fists punching the air and a boisterous crowd roaring their approval is in so many ways the bands natural habitat.

Take what they do from a small venue and push it onto a larger stage and it would still have a great deal of power, but with a whites of their eyes performance it is undistilled rock and roll that evokes lightning in a bottle comparisons.

And yes, it is easy to dismiss a band that on the surface doesn’t appear to have any current currency in the modern music business world,

Too many do it, but the quality of bands such as The Chords UK can’t be measured by chart hits, or how many appearances they can secure on music channels in this fast paced world.

Or even in the venues that they play.

Their relevance exists in the moment when you are standing in a crowd and the sound they are creating washes over you.

It exists when you open up to their latest album.

It exists when that primal tug whispers to you that they are damned good.

And isn’t that what it is all about?

Just that!

Just being blown away by a band on a Friday night!

And if you agree then The Chords UK are for you.

Thanks to the Kilmarnock ScooterClub for their participation in co-promoting this show.

Take a bow. 

Bellfield Tavern Events.