Galleries were the only official support for the night, however Millar Jukes got up to play a short acoustic set, mixing covers with his own stuff. It was a good set and I look forward to hearing some more from this guy.
I first put Galleries on over 2-years ago at Stereo, supporting Sonny Marvello. Their music caught my attention then and I was pleased to see and hear how they have developed in that time. David McAdam paced around the stage, producing stunning falsetto vocals to music and melodies that reminded me of mid-period Suede when they were epic with hooks, although David can sing a lot better than Brett Anderson.
'Underground Overground' mid set caused people at the back to stop talking and move forward and it was pleasing to see so many of the crowd appreciating a great set.
The stunning closer of 'Young Wounds' that has received airplay on daytime Radio 1 and is available via itunes as are 5 more tracks that are well worth checking.
I've got a feeling, young wounds don't last forever
It is a stunning track, the tempo picks up at the right time, it moves and grooves. Rather epic.
On to the headliners though. It had been quite a week for Vigo Thieves with real acclaim for their track 'Heartbeats' via enthusiastic radio play from Jim Gellatly and its use in the T in the Park viral video to announce the latest artists for the 2012 festival, not to mention over 30,000 views of their own video in under a month.
It is fair to say that the band were buzzing before they went on and their was a real sense of anticipation.
The bands bass player had celebrated his birthday the week before and decided to buy glow sticks for the crowd. It was an inspired idea and completely transformed the shabby basement chic of Sleazys into something completely different.
The band arrived on stage to their own song, the opener 'Wide Awake' off their forthcoming EP. An atmospheric track that couldn't be recreated on stage (yet).
With fans twirling glow sticks around their heads and waving them in the air, the band burst in 'Steal Your Heart', the warm circling guitar riff and primal beat causing the crowd down the front to jump and for others from the back to push down to join them.
The response from the crowd was incredible with 'Viiiiigo' style terrace chants causing singer Stevie Jukes to take a step back and take it all in before a heartfelt thanks and the introduction of 'Heartbeats' that caused things to get even crazier as I left my perch standing on the sofa at the side to get a view to join the crowd at the front...well I got to the middle.
This is a big track, no doubt about it. Plenty of bits to sing-a-long to and full of soul. Check the song and video below.
Love is the fire that's burning, when your heartbeats
'Echoes' was up next, an unreleased track to date, not that you would have noticed it from the crowds response again.
'Love Is Dead' is another favourite and another massive tune, a simple yet powerful synth riff propels the song and again the crowd loved it, singing along. It seems to be growing in size and stature. Singer Stevie Jukes abandoned his guitar to prowl the front of the stage and vibe off the crowd down the front who were singing his very words back at him.
'She's On Fire' is pure Simple Minds with journalist Jim Gellatly noting in his column in The Sun that it was ironic they were playing the Barrowlands that night, describing Vigo Thieves as the young pretenders.
The band closed with old favourite 'Blood Red' that prompted mass pogo-ing and the crowd to sing the guitar riff.
It was an epic set, the band were buzzing off the audience and that just increased the bond between them. The set is tight and epic, these songs could go far and seem to be growing week by week.
The band are clearly on the up, full of confidence and gaining more fans by the week just now. With London dates in April, a further Glasgow launch show for the second part of the EP booked for the end of May along with further Scottish dates with more to follow. 2012 could be a big year for Vigo Thieves!
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