We Were Promised Jetpacks/Panda Su – Doghouse, Dundee – Wednesday 10th June 2009

My first trip to the re-opened Doghouse was the perfect antidote to a really shitty day at work.

The principal attraction was We Were Promised Jetpacks. Now I’ve seen the Jetpacks a good few times over the last 3 years ( I even saw them before they’d written ‘Quiet Little Voices’) but this was the first time I’ve seen them headline. And perhaps more importantly it was also the first time since they recorded debut LP ‘These Four Walls’.

It’s also the first time I’ve seen them play with people they don’t know down the front singing all the words (even though the LP’s not out until Monday).

The confidence that they appear to be drawing from the progress they’ve made in recent months was obvious and this was the best gig I’ve seen them play by some distance. And that’s saying something.

Helped by an excellent sound, they were focussed right from the opening ‘It’s Thunder, It’s Lightning’. Highlights included a spectacular ‘Keeping Warm’, and single ‘Quiet Little Voices’.

But it’s perhaps the likes of “This Is My House, This Is My Home” which emphasises the real potential of these young musicians.  A thoughtful piece when Adam played it solo the other week, this was much closer to the recorded version building from the quiet opening to a thunderous climax. Fantastic.

Having pretty much missed opening act, Make Sparks, main support Panda Su offered a dramatic contrast to the Jetpacks, representing the calm before the storm. Although a three piece on this occasion, the focus was very much on Su and her acoustic guitar. First impressions were quite striking given that all three band members were wearing panda make-up.

But the make-up wasn’t there as something to hide behind because Su held the audience’s attention well throughout an excellent set, which at times was reminiscent (for me at least) of Suzanne Vega. Definitely someone worth keeping an eye on.

The video for the Jeptpacks’ new single:

And if you go over to Panda Su’s Myspace you can see a song from her set on Wednesday.