William Control - ABC, Glasgow - 13th June 2012 (Live Review)
Thursday, 14 June 2012
Written by Heather McDaid
Some people dabble in art, others are dedicated to it. Wil Francis is a man who devotes his life to art, be it writing or music, and once again graced our shores with his presence to share his work. He's been here countless times with his punk suit Aiden, partook on solo tours where he literally sold his own clothes to fans and, most recently, has brought William Control back over to the UK, the show in question being his ABC Glasgow stop.
What's most disappointing about this show is that so few made it out to witness it; on a head count it appears that there are between 50 and 60 fans in attendance. Openers Obscure Pleasures riled a fraction with their sinister twist on an eighties sound, yet any disconnect feels the fault of numbers present rather than quality of performance. Successors Fearless Vampire Killers have been making quite a name for themselves, so much so their set went down a tad better, yet the performance seemed flatter than it was in reality due to the lurching space around us.
However, credit where its due - neither band dipped their performance quality due to the factors that altered our perception of the show, so perhaps they're better than us. This just felt like a show that deserved much, much more. Following the spirit of the openers, William Control took to the stage with the same fearless gusto that saw energy and quality worthy of a sold out show.
Wil bridged the gap with fans on countless occasions, shoving the microphone to the crowd and even singing straight into faces of fans who had queued all day to be there. On one occasion, he smiled and said, "I want to thank all of you for coming out, honestly and sincerely." It's a moment like this that draws a smile; this is genuine and it feels refreshing to see a show so uncontrived.
Playing for around an hour and featuring numbers such as 'Kiss Me Judas', 'Razor's Edge' and 'I'm Only Human Sometimes', it proved to be a great show to witness. Fans danced freely around the floor as the entire band performed their best, no dips in energy or effort; those in attendance got value for their money to say the least.
As said, the disappointment of the evening was the turn out purely because, as fans of Wil and his work, we've seen him play on everything from high profile tours to his more basic runs and it felt that he and his band deserved better. No more mentions of that though, because it takes away from a show that was genuinely a pleasure to watch. Needless to say, we'll always be fans of William Control, always be fans of his work and will always continue to see him as long as he delivers performances with such devotion as he and his band did that evening.
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What's most disappointing about this show is that so few made it out to witness it; on a head count it appears that there are between 50 and 60 fans in attendance. Openers Obscure Pleasures riled a fraction with their sinister twist on an eighties sound, yet any disconnect feels the fault of numbers present rather than quality of performance. Successors Fearless Vampire Killers have been making quite a name for themselves, so much so their set went down a tad better, yet the performance seemed flatter than it was in reality due to the lurching space around us. 
