Glasvegas / White Lies

Tonight’s gig comprises of this year’s media darlings & possibly next year’s too. White Lies have already made the BBC longlist of bands to look out for next year & have made the NME’s Awards tour for 2009, supporting Glasvegas. Having recently heard the single Death, which sounds remarkably similar to 1980s ‘Brilliant Mind’ by Furniture, I was keen to hear more from London’s White Lies.

First impressions was how young the band look, particularly the drummer , Jack Lawrence-Brown, who looks no older than 18 yet plays with a ferocity which the rest of the band build their big music sound, I say Big Music because I am reminded of The Waterboys & Big Country, lead singer Harry McVeigh sounding especially like the late Stuart Adamson. They play a short thirty minute set, with ‘The Price of Love’ & ‘Death’ being highlights of a very enjoyable set, during Death the crowd are clapping away as though they are the main act. Already I can White Lies making inroads into the music scene in 2009 & are definitely a band to look out for.



Set List:-
Unfinished Business
To Lose My Life
EST
50 On Our Foreheads
The Price of Love
Death

So onto the headliners Glasvegas, I caught them twice this year at Glastonbury, before the album came out, with performances that didn’t have much audience participation it had to be said & where more of a curiosity. Having now heard the album, quite enthusiastically it has to be said, I was really looking forward to seeing the crowd’s reaction to them.

The band come out with a huge projected backdrop, gone have the 3 red spotlights from previous shows & replaced with a more sophisticated combination of bright white lights & projected images.



Opening tune ‘Flowers & Football Tops’ gets the fans, which are crushing against the barriers jumping up already. As both guitarists’ jump around, spinning guitars around themselves, the band seems to have more excitement about them. Even a couple of crowd surfers can be seen! James Allan does not say much between songs; in fact he barely speaks, preferring to let the songs do the talking. With the bright white backlighting Allan conjures up an image of the messiah. Although the songs are dark & cover subjects about death & social workers, the upbeats get the audience chanting & sing-along with all their might, already they have the sold out crowd eating from the palms of their hands.

The next 30 minutes whizzes by faster than a speeding bullet, which I must admit I did get really into & forgot to actually make any notes. ‘Geraldine’ had everyone singing whilst ‘Ice Cream Van’ had everyone watching in almost spine tingling silence, whilst ‘Go Square Go’ was the complete opposite with everyone singing the expletive chorus ‘Here we go here we here we fucking go’ as though they had been waiting for that line all night.

Allan finally talks, telling us ‘Hull your fucking mad here’s Daddy’s Gone’ As a mass sing-along ensues drowning out the band completely.



The band where on stage for an all too quick 45 minutes, already I can imagine them being on next year’s pyramid stage at Glastonbury, with a huge crowd watching. NME have been calling Glasvegas, Britains favourite new band, that time has passed already judging by tonight’s show. It surely cannot be long before they are playing sold out arenas to mass singalongs, catch them now in the intimate venues they are currently playing, because those arenas are soon going to be a calling for Glasvegas in the future. Where their sound will be more at home.

Set List:-
Flowers & Football Tops
Lonesome Swan
Fuck You Its Over
Cheating Heart
Polmont On My Mind
Please Come Back Home
Geraldine
Ice Cream Van
Go Square Go
Stabbed
Daddy’s Gone

FUTURE GIGS

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