Another Black Man Turning White

Heineken Festival Review (III)

Glasvegas was one of the headlining bands for the music fest that took place last weekend in Madrid, and I'll say it was one of my most favorite gigs of the whole event. Admittedly I haven't shown them the proper respect. Though I may be entering the game late when it comes to the music of the Scot quartet it's better late than never. 

James Allan, one of the coolest frontmen I've seen in a long time, took the stage dressed in white from head-to-toe, like an angel, wearing hater blockers even after nitefall, and with his neon mic cord wrapped around him like a snake. From what he tells, he always used to dress in all black (like all his band mates) 'til he decided to mute color to mark the album release, like a photo-negative effect of its former self.

These were three of the most acclaimed songs during the concert:

Geraldine

Daddy's Gonne 

Euphoria, Take My Hand 

The last one is included in Euphoric /// Heartbreak, their newest album which was dropped in early April this year. FMPOV, this concept of opposition regarding to euphoria and anxiety is also reflected in the outfit name (derived from the union of Glasgow - European city, famous for its historical and religious values, in which James was born - and Las Vegas - which does have a reputation for being the city of vice -).

Another track from this LP is Change, which involved James' mother (and Rab's aunt) by a very brief spoken word piece. C'mon, listen to it! It's not every day a mom collaborate on a record!

While apparently their lives seem like a fairy-tale since their inception (very good sales figures, constant touring of UK, Europe and even some impact in the US) all that glitters is not gold within the band, and there have been a lotta buzz circulating in recent months. In fact, some of the members described the process of recording the second album as "complicated". What happened? First, the mysterious disappearances of James and the cocaine overdose he suffered in 2009. The problems continued to appear with the departure of Caroline McKay earlier 2010  because of the increasing drug problems, and the recruitment of a new woman behind the drum kit. Hopefully, there's a twist of fate with the new release. Fingers crossed!