With such a huge sound and such a tiny venue, I wasn’t entirely sure how this night would go down for ME. Of course, it was always going to be touch and go but thankfully they manage to pull it off impressively well with just a few minor sound problems, mostly with Luke’s vocals being drowned out by the rest of his band mates for the first half of the set.
They say good things come in threes and for Welsh rock trio The Joy Formidable, this couldn’t be truer. Living in the area, residents would be forgiven for thinking an earthquake had hit Glasgow’s West End as the band attempt to bring Oran Mor to its knees from the basement upwards.
A usual night at Glasgow’s King Tuts consists of a bunch of indie musos fawning over some obscure band no one will have heard of, but tonight the scene is a little different. The small venue quickly fills up with excitable young women, cameras at the ready, awaiting the arrival of London’s fresh faced Seye and X-Factor 2010 finalist turned singer-songwriter Aiden Grimshaw.
It’s a brisk Friday night in Glasgow’s West End as a mix of student types and local regulars slowly fill the upstairs bar of the Captain’s Rest. Before long, a bell rings and all those attending tonight’s gig make their way downstairs, helping themselves to a free cupcake (and those be some damn good cupcakes) on the way. But tonight isn’t just another gig for Glasgow’s all female acoustic folk pop four piece, Julia And The Doogans because tonight marks the launch of their second EP ‘Diamonds’ and it is more than clear that both band and audience are equally excited.
Tonight is a pretty big milestone for a band who haven’t had their faces plastered on gig posters or in magazines.
King Tuts’ New Years Revolution has included some fine bands this month and last Wednesday was no exception. I’ll admit prior to the gig I knew little about the bands performing (besides the two headliners) so arrived at Tuts little knowing what to expect.
It’s often difficult to find a good instrumental band. To accomplish such a feat, the band need a good steady balance of rhythm and melody to justify their belief that vocals are not always necessary. Bands such as Mogwai and And So I Watch You From Afar will be names you’ll have heard of before but Leicester lads Maybeshewill approach the often eschewed genre from a whole different and much more refreshing angle.
It’s not often that you’ll get a line up quite as good as this. All three bands seem to complement each other and, despite having completely different styles, they can all create one hell of a powerhouse of sound.
One great thing about free gigs, for both artist and music fan, is that the fans need not have any prior knowledge of the artist.
Glasgow City Centre is always bursting with live music, every day of the week in venues big and small all across town. Milk, however, is a calcium-rich live music night with the added bonus of fresh milk and cookies (in the form of White Russians and oreos).
