THE VIEW CELEBRATE THEIR GREATEST HITS WITH INTIMATE SCOTTISH TOUR
LIVE REVIEW | THE VIEW | EDINBURGH LA BELLE ANGELE 10/12/2024 by Anne Kelly
Almost 2 years to the day after Dundee’s The View returned from a 5 year hiatus with a staggering four sold out shows at Glasgow’s O2 Academy, the band embark on their vastly cut short ‘Greatest Hits‘ Tour. A tour which was expected to travel across the UK before cumulating back in Scotland, the English dates were unexpectedly cut without explanation or attempts of rescheduling. But we were offered some additional Scottish dates, the mid way point being a Tuesday night affair at Edinburgh’s La Belle Angele.
Tucked away up Hastie’s Close in the historic Cowgate quarter of the city, La Belle Angele is one of the larger intimate venues in the region yet still maintains that cosy characteristic Edinburgh charm. It was easy enough to secure a last minute position tucked down the front left of the stage where at first glance, the crowd appeared rather sparse and subdued for your typical View gig.
Wasting no time with filler, The View punch right in there with favourites ‘Grace’, ‘Wasted Little DJ’s’ and ‘5Rebbeccas’. Three tracks that you’d expect to go off in the crowd, but the response is politely sober. It’s evident this is feeding back to Kyle who looks a shadow of his usual cheeky self. Turning to their more recent hits (Neon Lights, Shovel In His Hands), the band display a real polished sense of accomplishment in their performance.
Despite their conflicts over the years, the bond between the three core members Kyle, Keiran and Pete is innately tight and it reflects positively in their stage performance; bouncing off one another and covering each other without prompt. Equally, when there is tension between them, that is felt just as much. Roll on Keiran’s turn on vocals and his confidence and brief rapport with the crowd trump on Kyle’s less ballsy approach so far. ‘Skag Trendy’ is Keiran’s legacy with The View and his performance tonight is a credit to him. And that is the trigger which leads Kyle to up his game. Not one to be outshone by his friend, Kyle reemerges to the stand as the frontman this entire room knows he is. And with a quick dig towards the lowered mic needing readjusted for his return to the stand, Kyle has a little glint in his eye.
The strong 90 minute set may have taken a while to warm up but the energy finally starts taking grasp of the crowd around 30 minutes in. Still mostly tame but at least there’s movement and genuine moments joy accompanied by the cheers of “The View are on fire!” For those who were ‘up for it’ tonight, unfortunately they stood out like a sore – very intoxicated – thumb. Falling over into the more passive audience members and evidently leaving some fans a little uncomfortable in their passing. This is all witnessed by security to absolutely no raised eyebrows, which is disappointing to the venues credibility.
Highlights of the set for me included the sounds of ‘Sour Little Sweetie’ which has admittedly lived rent free in my head again after the reissue of 2012’s ‘Cheeky For A Reason’ last month. It was also the first time I had heard some of 2023’s ‘The Exorcism Of Youth‘ in a live setting. The release of that album marked an important transitional period in my life, therefore the songs remain very special. ‘Dixie’ and ‘Allergic To Mornings’ in addition to the aforementioned additions earlier did not disappoint.
For the majority of the crowd, the highlights definitely lay in the more popular of tracks from The View. ‘Double Yellow Lines’, ‘Sunday’ and of course ‘Same Jeans’ finally have a crowd worthy of this band. ‘Face For The Radio’ is the ultimate sing-along and captures something magic in the room. The encore see’s the ‘Greatest Hits’ theme out with a bang; ‘Superstar Tradesman’ and ‘Beat Lasts Forever’ before closing with ‘Shock Horror’ leave spirits high for both parties I think.
What should have been an intimate celebration of one of Scotland’s most notorious and beloved bands of the past 20 years, instead fell a little flat. Whether it was down to it being a school night, the below freezing temperature or perhaps it was just an Edinburgh thing, but Dundee’s The View were somewhat letdown on the third night of their Scottish ‘Greatest Hits’ Tour. With two nights at Glasgow’s O2 Academy following later that same week, hopefully the band got the party they deserve.
Our very own Rebecca headed along to The View’s first night at Glasgow’s O2 Academy and captured these moments on stage.
The View are already confirmed for 2025 festival season including appearances at Godley Gathering and Donny Fest. Meanwhile frontman Kyle Falconer us set to release his third solo album ‘The One I Love The Most‘ in February.
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