Glasvegas

Arts & Entertainments

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By Tallie Kane

Last updated: Mon 13th Oct 2008 at 17:16

Photo by Tallie Kane

Seeming like an antidote to the alt-folk that has suddenly cultured itself in the music world, Glasvegas burst into our midst with plenty of reverb, angry yet soulful lyrics and a great live show.

Not that there’s anything wrong with the alt-folk lot, it’s just that everyone likes getting roughed up a bit sometimes.

This isn’t to say that Glasvegas are a shouty, bolshie lad-rock band. Their live show echoes the tone of the album; loud yet painfully beautiful songs that churn their dedicated fan base into a frenzy which eerily reflects the pride that beams from football fans on the stands every week.

During “Go Square Go”, some of the more ‘active’ fans take it upon themselves to release some of the energy of the song that is emitting from vocalist James’ Allen’s huge, cavernous throat. It seems fitting, as Glasvegas’s music is something to jump with, as fans did along to the driving drums.

One of the best moments of the night was the pause during “Daddy’s Gone”, where James Allen listened to the crowd echoing the anthemic lyrics – “Forget your Da / He’s gone, he’s gone, he’s gone” - back at him.

Thankfully the band didn’t choose to play “Stabbed” live; although strong in message, it is one of the weaker tracks on the album musically and might not go down well with the general atmosphere that buzzed during the show.

As James Allen left the stage, he seemed frozen with pride, holding his chest and kissing the air.

Call me old fashioned, but I’m a sucker for an encore, unfortunately Glasvegas did not deliver one, which gave a mild damper on the whole night. Otherwise, to use an extremely overused phrase, Viva Glasvegas.

Rating 4/5