By Lola Lea

Shirtless, with mutton chops, cowboy boots and cords, Calum Grant swanned around the dance floor of the Flying Duck in Glasgow in support of Saloon Dion.

Opening with their latest single “For Jim, I love You!”, which turns themes of blind worship into an ode to Jim Jones, the Jonestown cult figurehead, San Jose made it clear that they would not be giving a regular performance.

San Jose’s Cean Gracie pictured in Aberdeen (Charlie Somerville)

While most bands fear the awkward horseshoe gap around the stage that forms at gigs attended by 20 or 30 people, San Jose revel in it. Calum set his mic stand in the middle of the floor, adjusted so low that he stoops over to wail into it. The whole audience was set on edge. Having made a name for themselves by blending punk and theatrics, the stage becomes their backdrop, and the performance takes place amongst the crowd.

With previous shows including a live crucifixion of a man in a bear costume and toilets brought from home, San Jose have used their background in theatre to make their shows stand out.

Calum Grant [Left] and Adam Milne [Right] pictured in Aberdeen (Charlie Somerville)

As they entered their second song, listed as “Eating” on their setlist, Cean Gracie, guitarist for the band, and Calum encircled the crowd like their prey. Guitarist Charlie McBride hunched under the ceiling as he stood on his amp. For a moment, Calum disappeared into the darkness, and as the crowd’s heads turned searching for him, he reappeared with a drink from the bar, placed his hand on his hip, and stood among us, uncomfortably observing us observing him.

The band’s preparation for each gig is clearly focused on devising their theatrics. They brought a folding chair with them and as they played “Bastards” (as titled on setlist) they arranged themselves like the subjects of an Italian Renaissance painting. Calum sat on the chair and Cean on the floor as they played, with Calum’s feet crossed on Cean’s shoulders. Below them lay Charlie, rolling over the feet of the crowd.

San Jose performing in Aberdeen (Charlie Somerville)

In larger venues, San Jose are known for crowd-surfing and mosh pits, but the intimacy of a smaller crowd allowed them more creativity. As Cean stood atop his chair, he contemplated a pipe on the ceiling, and hung his mic from it, reaching to sing up into it like a boxing announcer.

While they played their biggest single “Self Help”, drummer, Roan Chisholm was joined by the whole band, each taking a drum from his kit and cacophonous orchestration.

The band closed out their set with an unreleased song, which initially had the feeling of the obligatory Oasis-style anthem often seen from bands of this genre, but it quickly transformed into something entirely different. The band’s newest addition, Adam Milne, played synths, with his wailing, siren-like sounds adding another dimension of organised chaos to the performance. Bassist Robbie Slavin’s driving rhythm added to the urgency of the band’s lyrics, often juggling social issues with witty comparisons to modern culture.

Robbie Slavin pictured in Aberdeen (Charlie Somerville)

San Jose can be seen at QMU on 9 November, playing for Love Music Hate Racism. Their singles “For Jim, I Love You” and “Self Help” are currently streaming, and they have plenty of upcoming tracks which we can expect to be released in the coming months.

San Jose’s post-punk theatrics review