Gary Flockhart: Night at the museum proves a big musical hit

YOU get to see a lot of live music in this job. Sometimes they’re great gigs and other times they aren’t. Sometimes you come away feeling exhilarated and other times, well, the opposite applies.

Friday night’s instalment of RBS Lates, at the National Museum of Scotland, was one of the exciting ones, one of those gigs you wouldn’t easily forget.

The latest in the series had an Alice In Wonderland theme and plenty among the 2000 sell-out crowd got into the spirit of things by dressing up in colourful costumes. There were a fair few Alices, Cheshire Cats, White Rabbits, playing cards, and, well, you get the picture.

For others, myself included (I’m on crutches, that’s my excuse for not going as the Mock Turtle), it was all about the music. And what a top-notch line-up it was.

Headlining were Django Django, one of the buzz bands of the year. Fresh from their Jools Holland appearance, the Edinburgh-formed four-piece delivered 45 minutes of quirky, clever and infectious pop that brought to mind both The Beta Band and Hot Chip.

Earlier, we had 30 minutes of young trio Discopolis, the former Broughton High School boys showing why their synth-suffused take on house and electro is causing a stir.

Factor in food and drink, DJs and comedians and a silent Disco against a backdrop of mummies and dinosaurs, and it’s not hard to see why these RBS Lates are proving such a hit with the public.

Who knew a museum visit could be so much fun?