The latest gig on our A to Z Musical Tour was ……
There is no shortage of venues in Glasgow that host acts of all sizes
Tonight it was the first visit during the #AtoZMusicalTour to visit the Hug and Pint bar on Great Western Road
Leaving the balmy early summer evening, yes we sometimes get these, you enter the basement venue to a complete contrast. It was dark. Very dark inside. And it’s compact, bijou even, the stage no bigger than a kitchen.
And before long the first band are on stage. An unknown quantity but not an unknown sound. Part shoegaze though with the vocals more to the fore. Very compact unit, they had to be on the stage, though in the sense of a coherent musical unit they seemed definitely as one.
Like many bands starting out they were playing to a sparse audience mostly, it seemed, made up of friends who had ventured in to see them.
They couldn’t have been disappointed, as for 30 minutes or so they rattled through half a dozen of their songs. According to the little blurb I could find this Glasgow-based 4 piece Shoegaze/Dreampop band are inspired by the likes of Diiv, Ringo Deathstarr, Nothing and Slowdive. Certainly some of the guitar playing reminded me of the best of Slowdive and other Shoegaze bands.
A good start to the evening and a band I’ll be looking out for in the future. Now let’s hope I get their name correct!! Dallas Love Field
Too Many Things were the official tour support band. A keyboard and guitar duo supplemented by any number of pedals and digital components.
The duo made an impressive sound within the confines of the venue. Most likely the venue’s all round shape emphasised some of the echo driven tunes. The songs ebbed and flowed with a mix of intensity and subtlety.
Along with da Googie, Too Many Things they have released a split EP and, having played it several times in the run up to the gig, their live interpretations were instantly recognisable and played with an air of confident authority.
Da Googie
Dark was the venue and dark did the stage remain most of the time during her set.
da Googie is the solo project of Deb Googe, bass player with My Bloody Valentine, Thurston Moore Group and Brix Smith.
As she mentioned at the outset, anyone expecting an acoustic set of MBV numbers was going to be disappointed. She didn’t disappoint though.
With only a six stringed bass around her neck, a selection of pedals to ponder and an eager crowd to please, a challenging session could have evolved.
Fortunately, it became a tour de force as the simple became the atmospheric. Play a few notes loop them, play some more, loop them too and build a soundscape that echoed throughout the basement. Sometimes simple is just best. And, as the pictures show, it remained dark. An effect that only amplified the bass rifts coming through the speakers.
The evening finished when Deb was rejoined on stage by Too Many Things and the trio ended a triumphant return to Glasgow for Deb in particular.
A good night A good venue. 3 great acts. A very good way to avoid some eurovision nonsense.
About the venue
The Hug and Pint is a grassroots music venue, bar, & restauraunt in Glasgow’s west end. Close to St Georges X Subway Station
Since opening in June 2015, our live music programme has been one of the strongest Glasgow has seen, and has featured both well-established and up-and-coming local artists, as well as some of the most exciting international touring acts on the circuit.
Inspired by Arab Strap’s “Monday at the Hug and Pint”, our aim is to provide “The Friendliest Atmosphere in Scotland”.
The band gave us their blessing to open our version of The Hug and Pint – with Aidan even designing our logo.
All comments welcome so that we can improve what we are publishing!