The latest gig on our A to Z Musical Tour was ……
This mini Glasgow music festival celebrated its 10th anniversary this year and has established itself as one of the must attend events of the musical scene for performers and audience alike.
Since it’s move to the east of the city centre several years ago it has continued to grow with the larger venue spaces offered by The Barrowland Ballroom, BAaD and St Luke’s sitting comfortably with the smaller venues used like the Winged Ox, Barrowland 2, Van Winkle, 226 Gallowgate and McChuills.
In effect 8 stages that offer great music for acts just starting out to those who find themselves further up the musical ladder.
It was 5.30 pm before we parked up in the area by which time a few acts had already left their stages, packed up their gear and were heading into the festival to see their fellow musicians play.
The Zebecks
First up for the writer here was the band The Zebecks from Elgin performing to a capacity filled Barrowland 2. Their punk/indie rock style had the place jumping and their songs were delivered with the confident punch of a band knowing they have a fine future ahead of them. Like others on the extensive list of acts available on the day though they will have to work their way up through the consciousness of an ever-discerning audience. If this is an early indication of their work and their live performance then there is no reason to suggest they won’t fulfil their ambitions.
At 6pm I had hoped to see Kilgour in the Van Winkle, but the queue to get in and see them suggested that another date in the diary would have to be made to hear them play. Not to waste any listening time, I headed around the corner to BAaD on the off chance something might spark an interest and it certainly did.
TTSSFU
Tasmin Nicole Stephens is at the epicentre of this particular act. With a hint of the shoegaze band movement, her ethereal vocals lend itself perfectly to the driving guitar sounds that the band surround each song with. Like many bands of this genre, the sounds are hypotonic and perfect for swaying in tandem to the music.
Short sharp guitar solos, a heavenly voice and a dynamic rhythm department. An uplifting set and a serendipitous find. It wouldn’t be the last of the night.
PVC
Spotify has a lot to answer for. On finding a very ‘helpful’ playlist of acts performing during the festival, the songs suggested by the band PVC were right up my street. I’d never heard of them before, but they sounded great, albeit they were German, and they were penned in on my itinerary as a must see act in the Winged Ox.
Having made visual and aural contact, I can confirm that PVC of The Tenement Trail variety were a great band of female, drummer aside, indie punk artistes.
Their songs were forceful, their presence dynamic and they had that swagger about them that suggested they too will be moving up the musical food chain before too long.
There wasn’t a great deal of room on stage or in the bar itself to watch and listen to the band, however they made the most of the 30 minutes allotted to them and their small, but dedicated fan base in front of them, had a ball seeing and hearing them play.
St Luke’s is one of our favourite venues in the city. A converted church, a great sound and light system and inevitably a great night out whenever we visit.
As the night wore on, the queues to see bands got longer and this would be the only occasion I would venture into the venue, missing Parliamo and Neon Waltz, bands that I’d seen several years ago and had tipped for better things when they played smaller stages. Was this their breakthrough nights? I’ll never know.
Imogen and the Knife
However, the act I did manage to see was a pure treat on the night and maybe even the highlight of the festival, more for the surprising way I stumbled into the venue to kill some time.
The songs may have lowered the tempo of what had gone before, however with the addition of a brass section, the orchestrated feeling generated was perfect within the setting of the old church.
Hailing from Newcastle, Imogen Williams brings a northern charm and sense of humility that endeared her to the audience. There’s also a touch of that other north east singer Nadine Shah, though with less of the political statements. Imogen’s songs are wrapped around her own life with songs about family and her sister in particular a vehicle for her songwriting.
It was her first visit to play in Glasgow and I’m sure if the audience reaction is anything to go by, it won’t be long until we see her again.
Slate
Leaving St Luke’s, a glance across the road found the queue at Van Winkle had disappeared, and time was just right to go and see another act that had been on the list of bands to see, Welsh quartet Slate.
Up close and personal, the band sounded great. There was a dynamism about the way they played, intense, sometimes dark and yet captivating. They easily fit into the post-punk movement of bands, a great rhythm section, powerful lead guitar and a singer with the range to lead us on musical journey that highlighted the strong Welsh identity influencing their songwriting. Passionate about their upbringing and how it has shaped their lives, the music was absorbing.
Samuel Nicholson and Humour
With some time to ‘kill’ the next half hour or so saw us take in both Samuel Nicholson in BAad and Humour in Barrowland 2.
Both acts summed up the diversity of what was on offer during the day.
Samuel is an indie rock frontman. It would be fair, I hope, to change that description to Samual is an intense indie rock frontman. He probably won’t thank me for this but he looks like a man who has lived music for a lot more years than many of the others we were able to see on the night. The songs played harked back to the rock / blues era of years gone by and were all the better for hearing and watching an act that knew what they wanted to play and were able to deliver the music in a captivating manner. It was hard at times to take your eyes off Samuel as he put every bit of his soul into the performance. Another accidental find, albeit for only twenty minutes or so.
Humour on the other hand are equally intense in the punk tradition which had the packed Barrowland 2 bouncing along, much to the delight of the band who fed off the energy of the audience in front of them.
Piles of guitar, driving bass and drums all added to the staccato vocals of Andreas Christodoulidis and made for twenty minutes of intense power, maybe even fun thrown in.
Declan Welsh & The Decadent West
As the night drew to its close, two bands were vying for our attention. Declan Welsh & The Decadent West had top billing in The Barrowland Ballroom, and you can understand why he had been given this reward for years of hard endeavour. As he himself admitted, he had spent a few years in the small to medium sized venues at Tenement Trail and it was an honour to be on the main stage.
He has obviously come a long way since those early days, the band members on stage with him on the night would have half filled a couple of the other venues on the night.
In those intervening years he has built a loyal following of fans who sing along to the songs as they blast from the stage. Declan is charismatic and works up the audience into a frenzy of enjoyment more than ably supported by the professional production coming from his bandmates. It’s indie pop at its best and of all the acts tonight, he is probably only a few steps away from truly breaking in the mainstream consciousness.
Vlure
However, for this writer, Vlure were the main attraction of the festival and I arrived in time to beat the crowds and secure a front row position to watch a band who have been surrounded by a lot of hype in the past year or so.
The tempo was raised to a level not met by any other act on the night. The sound was immense. The light show, dazzling.
Hamish Hutcheson on vocals is the consummate showman, stirring up the crowd to dizzying heights while reminding everyone to stay safe and look after one another.
The band of Conor Goldie on guitar and cheerleading duties, with brother Niall on bass, Carlo Kreikaar on drums and Alex Pearson on Keyboard and Synthesisers deliver a sound that is part gothic, part electronic, part techno, part post-punk. Add all these elements together and something unique is delivered.
This is the third or fourth time I’ve seen them play over the past few years. Their progression has been impressive. The belief in their own ability is well founded. The hype should not distract anyone from believing this is a band on the fast track up the musical ladder.
And on the final note, we all headed out into the October night. A lot of new music heard. A lot of new music to hear again.
As a showcase for new music, the Tenement Trail can be immensely proud of what it has done these past ten years. I’m sure the acts who have performed in that decade and the audiences that have watched them play will testify to the experience offered on one night, in multiple venues.
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