Scotland gets a wild ride as Waterparks tease their next chapter and throw a party that threatens to get out of control.
“Spoiler alert!” Awsten Knight puts a bouncing Glasgow Barrowlands on pause midway through tonight’s all-action return. “The next Waterparks album is done. Double-spoiler: we’ll be back here on that record, too. So tonight is about having fun and playing the songs we really love!”
Indeed, even by the vibrant Texans’ fizzing standards, there’s one hell of a party atmosphere in this legendary old ballroom. Fans have been queueing up outside since last night and Awsten isn’t about to let them down. What they deliver is a sprawling set divided into thematic chapters – ‘Happiness’, ‘Sadness’, ‘Acoustic’, ‘Anticipation’, ‘Anger’ – packed with all manner of gimmicks, from song requests to black-and-white video interludes, giving everyone license to cut loose and get silly.
‘BWOOOOONG!’ Tolling ominously like the soundtrack to a Christopher Nolan movie, Greywind’s booming intro tape catches some of those still filing in at 8:45pm off guard. But it’s quickly drowned out by shrieks of delight and the Irish rockers’ excellent, emotionally-literate rock. Swaggering on in a cracking yellow and black jacket and red gloves, like a cross between Uma Thurman and Debbie Harry, vocalist Steph O’Sullivan is the undeniable star of the show, possessed of remarkable talent and charisma. Guitarist brother Paul is the perfect foil, too, layering up heart-tugging textures for his sister to spring off on You're My Medicine and I.K.A.M.F.
"Glasgow, I really like you," Steph announces with Marilyn Monroe's breathiness at one point. "Maybe it's that Irish-Scottish connection." Whatever it is, some in the audience switch on their phone lights so quickly you have to suspect they might as enthusiastically throw themselves down the Barras' steep steps at her command. And although sounds like the subtle atmospherics of In Autumn would be better suited to an intimate headline set than an echoey support slot, the heart-tugging hooks of Swing And Sway, then the venomous melodies of Antidote (accompanied by Steph’s nurse’s hat costume change) ensure they leave this audience on an emotional precipice.
Not that it’s a night for getting too emo. “Is jumping in this room harder because the floor is sticky?” Awsten cranks the banter as the headliners hit top gear. “You’re going to be getting a great workout, attracting all kinds of himbos and baddies.”
The Barras’ sprung boards aren’t all that gummy, in truth. But having spoken to the frontman about the appeal of working in the different ‘funhouse’ rooms of the studio where they recorded that imminent sixth album, you can tell how much he loves plying his trade in this near-100-year-old, gritty Glaswegian sweatbox. There is a little empty space round the sides this evening, but that may be everyone cramming down front.
“A lot of cities, when they sing Waterparks songs, will do it in an American accent,” Awsten laughs, as the rowdy Scots take control of a joyous Stupid For You. “You guys don't do that at all!” Wrapping a pride flag round his neck for the sultry Dream Boy feels like the farthest thing from performative. And although the fan-picked sections of the set inevitably descend into howling chaos, eventually narrowed down to individually overheating punters plucked from the pit, the additional theatre makes sure that Telephone and Gloom Boys feel nothing like filler.
Flash-flooding every second with commotion and colour, there’s no chance of getting bored. One second the crowd are being blasted by CO2 jets. The next they're allowed to ‘Booooo!’ for five seconds straight because it’s taken Waterparks three years to get back here. The juiciest chunks, of course, are the handful of new tracks being rolled out on tour for the first time. IF LYRICS WERE CONFIDENTIAL combines massive melodies and chunky rhymes like twenty one pilots crossed with Panic! At The Disco, with the weirdo ‘Timothée Chalamet’ refrain perfect the week of the Oscars and a new Dune trailer. RED GUITAR is (slightly) more straightforward, but its massive six string solo hits hard.
After an epic set, the race through TANTRUM, REAL SUPER DARK and two-minute encore LIKE IT feels like a slightly insubstantial finish, as if the band have just clocked quite how much fan-service there's been this evening, then rushed to close the tap. The again, the whole point here was to keep people thirsting for more. On those terms, it’s very much mission accomplished.
Waterparks are on tour in the UK and Ireland until March 26
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