Written By: Pauline Kurks
(Live Show Editor)
On Tuesday last week, I headed over to Henry Fonda in Hollywood to catch one of my favorite bands at the moment, Glasvegas. They’ve been hailed as “The Next Oasis” by Spin magazine and have just been nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Award; thoughts of possible acceptance speeches are running through their minds, “Probably a booze fuelled rant, or slur, depending on how long the ceremony lasts,” claims Paul Donoghue, bassist extraordinaire.
Glasvegas is a Scottish band that seems to be accomplishing the tough task of breaking the US. From the packed Henry Fonda on Tuesday, you could see that they have certainly cracked the market. Wearing their uniform of black and white, Glasvegas managed to bring back what is lost in rock today-a mix of grit and soul. Lead singer James Allen decided to take a break from being a modern day rock icon to give the audience some dating advice “this is gonna be a romantic song coming up….get in the mood, and grab the cock of the boy next to you”
Glasvegas managed to transport you to a muddy festival field, where you can close your eyes and feel the euphoric alternative-rock glow, wash over you. Rocketing to success with their highly rated debut album, ‘Glasvegas’ in 2008, this Glaswegian band is in great demand. With festival season well and truly rocking, Glasvegas is notching up the air miles, here, and in Europe, supporting U2 and Kings of Leon. “Festivals don’t give you a lot of time to set up or sound check so when it’s a good show you’re left with a great feeling. That, and watching people eating hot dogs while waiting on the act after you,” says Donoghue.
The witty, gritty, rockers recorded a Christmas album in Transylvania because Allen, “always wondered what Transylvania looked like, so we went there to see if it really did look like a Scooby Doo cartoon.”
Glasvegas have been classified as a dark band, Paul laughs, saying, “We’re four of the least dark individuals you’ll meet…they expect us to sleep in coffins and suchlike. Although James does seem to be allergic to sunlight though…”
Glasvegas has been called “the best band in Britain” by NME and the feeling in The Music Box at Henry Fonda theater confirmed this. Glasvegas-James Allan, Rab Allan, Paul Donoghue and Caroline McKay-have brought back what we all need, a heavy dose of intelligent, alternative-rock (Incubus) that can pull off the swagger, skinny black jeans, and Ray-Bans because they have the goods to back it up.
CWG Magazine 