Having seen Kyle in an inebriated state outside the venue, I had a feeling this would be a ramshackle set. Ramshackle was the understatement of the year…

Date: October 24, 2008

Venue: Bodega

IT was coming, you could sense it. From the moment The View’s teenage hell-raiser Kyle Falconer stumbled across the stage with a glazed look in his eye, swigging from a bottle of lager during their sound-check much to the annoyance of the sound technicians, this gig was always going to descend into chaos.

Clearly intoxicated, and spitting out incomprehensible drivel in his thick Dundonian brogue, he was struggling to even stand up and communicate, let alone front a band. Bumping into band members, grinning like a lunatic and completely unable to focus… and this was before they’d played a solitary note.

When they did start up it was shambolic. Fan favourite Skag Trendy sounded like a scratchy Libertines cast off sung by Shane MacGowan, while new single 5 Rebeccas was shorn of its ballsy spirit and pop-punk guile, sadly replaced with an uninspired mess in which Kyle forgets to sing. When guitarist Kieran Webster has a word in his ear presumably to try and resolve the farce, Kyle takes exception, and storms off the stage like a mardy teenager.

Evidently embarrassed by this display of petulance the band appear apologetic. In Kieran’s own words they are having “what is known in the business as a nightmare”, but it’s not over for them yet.

Kyle comes back on to rapturous yet undeserved applause. He attempts to play again but slumps to the floor in a drunken stupor, his mop of hair lapping across his face as his inebriated head lolls back and forth uncontrollably. He then leaves the stage for good, forcing the remaining members to realise that the gig is effectively over. They terminate the performance just half-an-hour in and offer refunds to all present.

Boos ring out, chants of “You don’t know what you’re doing” and “cheat” penetrate the chaos and rile Kieran who, to his credit, had so far done his utmost to put on some kind of show with or without his lead man. And fair play to them for trying, because even with swathes of disgruntled punters heading towards the exits for their money back, they soldier on regardless of the sorry situation with the help of support band The Law’s lead singer, and trawl though an ironic rendition of The Libertines’ Music When The Lights Go Out and acoustic versions of Superstar Tradesman and Same Jeans, which all eject the kind of calculated temerity we were expecting from the off.

But a little upstart too big for his boots who’s living the contrived rock n roll notion a little too literally spoilt the occasion for everyone.

There’s a line in Same Jeans which goes: “That’s just made your head spin around, so get yourself together get your feet back on the ground”.

Good advice. Kyle needs to take note of his own lyrics a little more.