Epic Beard Men: Sage Francis & B. Dolan @ Stereo, Glasgow, 23 Aug

It’s always refreshing to hear a Glasgow accent on stage and Jackal Trades is about as Glaswegian as you can get. Taking the stage with such surprising suddenness that for the first few minutes we mistake him for a member of the audience, frontman Mark McGhee offers a surreal gig experience.

With the lights fully up and the crowd still floating around the bar, McGhee urges everyone forward as he launches into a fast rap vitriol on the government, benefit street and automation, in what feels likes a house party where someone’s paranoid uncle has taken the stage. Unfortunately down a member, Jackal Trades still manage to soldier on and give a fun albeit decidedly amateurish performance. However, a basement full of people shouting “fuck the robots” in what felt like the start of a low budget cyberpunk film will be a gig memory that sticks with us for a while.

Keeping up the indie hip-hop feel of the night, the Epic Beard Men (Sage Francis & B. Dolan) take the stage in various states of readiness. As Dolan sets up the first track on the laptop at the side of the stage, Francis is still trying to get his Strange Famous shirt buttoned up.

Better known for their solo work, the first few tracks feel more like the Beastie Boys than expected, but as the set continues, their moodiness returns with the chiptune-infused Five Hearts throwing such choice lyrics as 'The mass destruction of my youth was beautiful.' Moving through a selection of B. Dolan and Sage Francis solo cuts we get the likes of Sea Lion, Film the Police and Which Side Are You On? before the duo debut new track Hedges, a cutting jab about neighbourly disputes which serves as an allegory for Trump’s farcical border wall.

The setlist is a rush that gets the blood pumping and sparks fresh political outrage even in our already jaded souls. Shutting the lights off to play by the mobile flashlights of the crowd for Film the Police is an experience that has to be felt to be truly appreciated, one that larger corporate venues would likely balk at for fear of “health and safety,” another topic the Epic Beard Men lampoon in Safety. By the end of the night we’re left feeling revitalised and ready to tear down the system.