Fat Dog

with Truthpaste

I first saw Fat Dog earlier this year at The Garage in Glasgow and that night was taken aback by how many people had thronged into the room to take part in their energetic set.

And it was all about crowd participation with the mosh pit in full flow to a backdrop of loud, driving music. Part Ska, part Techno, part Punk, all infectious.

As soon as the set ended, I was on the phone to book tickets for their album launch headlining tour, touching down in Glasgow at Stereo.

Woof is the name of their debut album and it’s a thoroughly well-produced soundtrack to have on if you feel like jumping about or head banging as the fingers batter on your keyboard.

As I read a number of other recent reviews of the tour, it’s also telling that the band have the support of music journalists up and down the country. Their appeal is based on few bands coming close to doing what they do. The question to be asked is will the hype make or break them?

On the night they were loud, danceable, very intense, weird and thrilling all in the space of a relatively short set with little time to deliver an encore.

The vast majority of fans who packed into Stereo formed a seething mass of bodies that vocalist Joe Love controlled like the leader of his own cult. They knew the songs. He knew the touch points. They looked for guidance. He gave them direction.

Like other acts, Fat Dog is the sum of its constituent parts. The drums of Johnny Doghead Hutch and the addition of a second percussionist drive the beat with Jacqui Wheeler on bass keeping the tempo high throughout. Morgan Wallace on sax gives it that little extra edge and Ska feel and Chris Hughes is the manic keyboard player/dance instructor on the night. As a group, they looked like they were all out for a night of fun and frolics.

Collectively, the sound is exciting on the night and they give the fans what they wanted to hear.

From a neutral perspective, the vocals of Joe Love seemed lost amongst the mix, though most knew the lyrics in any case and it wasn’t an issue for them.

There were other times though when the band and fans seemed over eager just to get to the ‘dancing’ part and maybe the short time available for the set contributed to that and didn’t allow the band to develop the songs.

Fat Dog will be headlining a far more prominent tour in 2025, and it will be interesting to see how they progress as a band and how their song writing expands for future releases.

They are a band on an upward trajectory, and nothing can take away from the devotion their fans have for them. As energetic gigs go, this was one of the most electric events of 2024.

Support Act Truthpaste

Ahhh, here’s nothing like a fun band name to pique my interest.

However, name apart, I was glad to have arrived at Stereo to see them opening up for Fat Dog.

There maybe only five of them but, given their ability to play a multitude of instruments, each song offered something slightly different.

Vocal duties are shared during the set which also lend to the differentiation.

It’s not quite folk music though it leans into that genre along with a hint of indie pop.

Given the nature of the headline act’s musical influences, it might seem like an odd pairing, however they were given a very generous Glasgow welcome and will definitely keep an eye out for them in the years to come to see how they prosper.