We Were Promised Jetpacks

Immediately after We Were Promised Jetpacks' set at the Scottish Arts Council showcase, one of my stage-front neighbors couldn't stop raving about vocalist Adam Thompson's microphone control: "That kid knows how to handle the mic. He doesn't just eat it, like all the other singers you see." It was a good and amusing observation, but it sidestepped the more obvious conclusion: that those kids had just poured an unbelievable amount of energy and passion into a set that nearly took the roof off of The Parish. The microphone was merely a consequence; I contend that it was simply blown away from Thompson's mouth by the sheer power of his vocals. Thompson looks like an 18-year old Scottish schoolboy but sounds like he is 80, especially when he is at full force, adding depth to the band's music, which is full of epic builds and anthemic choruses. The energy coming from the stage radiated through the crowd, who had been receptive but reserved for the earlier acts. No longer. Where there was once personal space near the stage, there now stood throngs of fans, singing along to song after song from These Four Walls. We Were Promised Jetpacks didn't talk much during their set, they simply powered through their songs, maintaining impressive focus and intensity for a band so young. It was clear, as Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchinson noted later, that playing behind these guys is not an enviable task