Glasvegas - Night & Day Manchester - 29.1.08

Lets be honest, nothing short of walking out of this in tears would ever match the amount of hyperbole that Glasvegas have been on the receiving end of.

With a build up that seems to last longer than the Lord Of The Rings trilogy complete with extras, Glasvegas walk on to stage  like true stars. James Allan looks the spit of Joe Strummer while the rest of the band rockabilly at core look like every single one of Morrissey's musical cohorts over the past decade. Of course only us and a handful of people at the front can see this as they choose to hide in the shadows and behind atmospheric lighting which means that anybody 5 rows back can hardly see a thing.

But what about the music? Apart from the single "Daddys Gone" there's very little in Glasvegas's set to engage the listener once you step away from the broad Glaswegian accents. Musically is very much as a case of one trick stretched to a whole set and half way through we lose the will to live. Spector and the wailing feedback of Jesus & Marychain are both obvious influences, but the band have the power of none and where they aim for the importance of Spiritualised they sound like forgotten 90s prog rockers Ultrasound fronted by one of the Proclaimers (with added expletives).

In time Glasvegas may become as important as the hype that surrounds them but at the present moment they are a very average band. The fact that one of the highlights of the set tonight is a cover of "Be My Baby" over their own "It's My Own Cheating Heart" or "Go Square Go" says a lot

Alex McCann
Photos: Karen McBride www.karenmcbride.com

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