When you fall in love with a band from the beginning and seeing them evolve in front of your eyes, it is like watching your own children grow up. For me, watching Glasvegas sell out bigger venues every time they play New York and attending each one, is not only a privilege it is an honor. I simply love this band and what I witnessed last night at a sold out Webster Hall was just magic. The Scottish quartet took the stage for a hour long set, which included their self titled debut in it's entirety plus a few songs from their Christmas EP A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like A Kiss). Opening with the rising single "Geraldine," standing front row, my skeleton jumped out of my skin. Their music is part 50's retro, part Jesus and Mary Chain and Joy Division, but at the end of it all, it is purely their own. When singer James Allen belts out his lyrics, you feel his pain, they are songs everyone can relate to, because in one form or another the heart ache that Allen is singing about is something we have all gone through.
Looking like rock stars ripped from the pages of your favorite magazine, Glasvegas had the crowd at their feet all night and begging for more. With Bassist Paul Donoghue and Guitarist Rab Allen dancing around the stage and drummer Caroline McKay pounding her heart out, it is just pure passion that drives the band's live sets. From the crowd pleasing "Go Square Go," "It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry,""Fuck You It's Over," to "Flowers and Football Tops," and "Daddy's Gone," the crowd chanted back as if it were a soccer match back in the band's native Glasgow than a rock concert.
I first herd of this band a year ago and was instantly hooked, I have written about them hundred's of times, including landing their first American interview. Yet, it was not until after witnessing the band just a few months back at Bowery Ballroom, I knew I had something special then. Last night at Webster Hall, backed by a new lighting system which will put them on equal playing field as U2 when they open for the legendary band this summer. Glasvegas are hitting the big leagues, the place where they belong.
For my Interview with Glasvegas click HERE