On a hot sunny Thursday evening Boy Child and I boarded the train to Glasgow. We were heading into the city, to the O2 Academy to be precise, to see those mighty Mongols, The HU.
I was hoping it was going to be third time lucky as I have missed them twice so far (2020 and 2022)
Having bathed in glorious sunshine in the queue for 30 minutes or more (thank you, Weather Gods), the doors opened and, while I made the obligatory trip to the merch stall, Boy Child secured a nice wee rail spot for the night. Happy days…
There was one support act on the bill – Tau and the Drones of Praise, a Pagan folk band…. and that’s as far as that thought goes. Thumper Principle duly applied….
Moving swiftly on….
At 9 o’clock amid cheers and chants of “HU HU HU HU”, the band’s drummer was first out on stage to hang they standard on its pole centre stage as his bandmate’s followed. The HU opened their ninety-minute set with Hohochu Zairan. Badged as the Rumble of Thunder Tour, things were certainly off to a thunderous start.
Suddenly, we were transported to the plains of Mongolia as the traditional Mongolian sounds and throat singing filled the air.
Hohochu Zairan – The HU (set opener) @ O2 Academy Glasgow 22/06/23 – YouTube
For the uninitiated among you, The HU are a Mongolian folk metal band from Ulaanbaatar, who call their musical style “Hunnu rock”. The HU are inspired by the Hunnu, an ancient Mongol empire and the band’s member still honour this by dressing in traditional warrior style and by playing traditional Mongolian instruments.
There are four core members of the band but for live shows they are accompanied by four touring musicians which makes for a busy stage.
It’s the band’s core members who are at the front of the stage. Front man, Jaya, is the only one in Western dress but has a traditional belt and boots on by way of a nod to his heritage.
The Gereg and Shoog Shoog, both from the band’s debut album The Gereg followed.
The crowd were loving it…even if none of us understood a word of it! All of the songs were sung in the band’s native language and incorporate traditional Mongolian throat singing. It truly was incredible to hear such a unique blend of sounds.
I was fascinated with Gala, who was on stage in front of me. He was playing a morin khur (a horsehead fiddle) with a bow finished off with what I assume was horsehair. A stunningly beautiful if somewhat bizarre looking instrument.
At the far side of the stage, Enkush was playing a second morin khur only his was red to Gala’s blue.
To Gala’s right stood Temka, who was playing a tovshuur (a three stringed lute) Again another beautiful looking traditional instrument.
Frontman Jaya also played two instruments during the set – a tsuur (a flute style instrument) and a tumur hhuur (that a Jew’s harp to you and me).
The four touring musicians behind them towards the back of the stage were playing more familiar Western instruments (bass, guitar, percussion and drums) I loved though that The HU kept the traditional instruments to the forefront of the performance.
It’s quite a challenge to sing along to a set that isn’t in English, but the Scottish crowd rose to the challenge, singing along passionately where they could and chanting “HU HU HU HU” in between. You can’t keep a Scots crowd quiet!
The set itself was a balance of songs from The HU’s two albums plus Essessin Vasehina, a song that was featured in the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Eseerin Vasahina – The HU @ O2 Academy Glasgow 22/06/23 – YouTube
Set highlights for me were Yuve Yuve Yu and Wolf Totem, both from The Gereg
Yuve Yuve Yu – The HU @ O2 Academy Glasgow 22/06/23 – YouTube
This Is Mongol from their second album Rumble of Thunder rounded out the main set.
It was hotter than hell in the room by now but there was time for a quick encore before the fans melted.
The HU ended the night with a rousing cover of Metallica’s Through The Never
Through The Never (Metallica cover) – The HU @ O2 Academy Glasgow 22/06/23 – YouTube
Before finally leaving the stage, the drummer ceremoniously lifted the standard from its pole and carried it off into the night and onto the next stage.
As we trooped out into the warm summer evening, relishing in the taste of fresh air, echoes of “Yuve Yuve Yu” filled my mind.
Those “echoes” lived there for two further days!
An incredible night of music. Can’t wait to see them next time the Mongolian horsemen ride into town.
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