Glasvegas, Viva Glasvegas ! What a great headline for the band that
is definitely flavour of the month at the moment, however I'm still
not entirely convinced that all the hoopla is warranted. However hats
off to them for fulfilling their obligation to play the 300 capacity
Barfly in Cardiff, a commitment I guess they made before their album
entered the top 40 just behind Metallica. It was also refreshing to
see them drinking at the pub across the venue, which even gave me the
opportunity of checking with lead singer James Allan if I had enough
time to get another round in before they were due to play - I Anyway onto the gig. The venue was obviously rammed and
an expectant air hung over the fairly diverse crowd. The band took to
the stage Next track 'Lonesome Swan' was pleasant enough, and was swiftly followed by 'It's My Own Cheating Heart' although in truth the band should come with subtitles as their Glaswegian accents are so thick that I found a lot of it indecipherable. Also I'm not sure a rock band should ever have the lime 'Liar, liar pants on fire' in any of their songs. Caroline McKay's thumping beat welcomed in 'S.A.D. Light', but whilst the quality of their song are undeniable, and they are obviously a competent and professional band, I couldn't help feeling that at present they seem to lack many anthems that can get the crowd going. Consequently the vast majority of the audience were nearly motionless throughout the first half of the set. 'Polmont on My Mind' was also note perfect and highlighted the Jesus & Mary Chain wall-of-sound they use to such good effect. It will be interesting to see if they employ the same technique on their rumoured Christmas album. The highlight of the evening for me was the
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