THE EARLY WEEKEND III

The Mercury Lounge was packed last night, with a sold-out crowd jostling for space inside the venue’s concert room. Opening band The Diggs had just taken the stage when we arrived. Despite receiving a clichéd New York reception from the crowd (arms crossed, brows furrowed, and at least 5 feet of space between the stage and the audience), The Diggs played a solid set inspired by mid-‘90s indie rock. There were plenty of looped guitar drones and shoegazing vocals, which makes this trio sound like the long-lost cousins of Sunny Day Real Estate. Check out Stag, a track from the band’s debut LP Commute.


Favourite Sons took the stage next and delivered a killer performance that you’ll soon be able to download from our Videos page. Stay tuned.

While the audience waited for headliners The View to rock everyone’s socks off (Scottish style), we spotted Rolling Stone's senior editor, David Fricke. “I’m here to see The View,” he told us, which immediately squashed any plans we had to head out early and get some extra sleep. If David Fricke recommends something, you listen to it – case closed. We stayed.

The View are already huge in the U.K., where they’ve cracked the Top Ten in the singles charts. They’re even scheduled to host their own BBC Radio 1 show on Tuesday, January 16th. The U.K. music scene often creates unnecessary hysteria with every new band it embraces, but these Scotsmen are worthy of the hype. They draw inspiration from Oasis, The Libertines, and The Buzzcocks – a surprisingly sophisticated selection for a group of musicians who, by all appearances, aren’t old enough to drink at the clubs that book them. The View is going to be big, and we’re glad we caught them. David Fricke is right again.