Cloud Nothings @ The Art School, Glasgow, 8 Dec

The Hotelier open the night, playing to a somewhat sparse, but fairly attentive audience. Final song, An Introduction to the Album, gets a big reaction and the best singalong of any song all night. Surprisingly, the crowd remains sparse even for Cloud Nothings, who come on with little fanfare and launch into a rollicking No Future/No Past, firmly accentuating Dylan Baldi's impressive post-hardcore vocals.

There's nothing from their spritely self-titled debut, but their other three albums are well represented in a set that is performed well, but sometimes struggles to really ignite the audience. There is a sense of disconnect between the band and the crowd throughout the show, with no meaningful interaction until the encore and surprisingly little movement.

Wasted Days – halfway through the set – is the first song that gets a pit going; that remains, more or less, for the rest of the show, though it's never more than a handful of hardcore fans involved. Modern Act, I'm Not Part of Me and main set closer Realize My Fate all sound great, but there's a sense that the band are a little tired after a long year of touring and are just going through the motions.

The encore is the only time when they really come to life. After realising that he's got more time left than expected, Baldi asks the audience what they'd like to hear, and although they go with predictable suggestions (Baldi openly admits he doesn't know how to play all of his songs, like No Sentiment, and finds the request for almost ten year old Can't Stay Awake hilarious), they play with a gusto and enjoyment that's been lacking for most of the night. Stay Useless, Cut You and Now Hear In end the show on a high note, but also provide a taste of what the whole performance could've been.