Category: Gig

Awful Eyes, Oedipus and the Mamas Boys, Citizen Head & Vacant Pavements – live in King Tuts

January 16, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

All Photos courtesy of Dale Harvey

What should have been my third gig of 2026 turned out to be my first one, and it was a belter with four very different bands all ploughing their own furrow in their chosen genre, or indeed just by ploughing their own furrow full stop and in doing so defying pigeonholing…

The first band on the bill were a case in point, when I previously saw Vacant Pavements supporting Tanzana in McChuills I was late to the venue and only caught the last song of their set, which was more than enough to whet the appetite for more, I’m disappointed in myself that it’s taken until now to fix that.… Read the rest

Count the Days Backs Against the Wall EP cover

The New Sound of Scotland – Count the Days – Backs Against the Wall – EP Review

January 7, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

The first feature for one of the bands appearing on the You Are Here – The New Sound of Scotland CD coming out shortly is an EP review for Count the Days and their debut Backs Against the Wall. This review comes on the eve of their headline performance as part of King Tuts New Years Revolution alongside Comfort Girl, Dalmatic & The Noise Club, a tasty line up if ever there was one.

The five track EP includes their 3 singles to date Above You, Springbank Road and Get Up! alongside new song Kings and Queens, and an acoustic version of Springbank Road.… Read the rest

Looking Back… Junk Pups

December 30, 2025 By neilho27@sky.com

Junk Pups recently bowed out playing their last gig as part of the Palestine Red Crescent Benefit gig in the Hug and Pint in December. Here is every appearance in these pages from 2022 to that last gig…

2022

Singles Round Up 2022 – Part 4…

Junk Pups – Front Garden Flamigo

In the time its taken me to eventually getting round to publishing this, Junk Pups have another single out in the shape of Miss Behave, but lets take some time to bask in the glory of the angular post punk guitars and laidback funky groove of Front Garden Flamingo.… Read the rest

The Ginger Quiff – Gigs of 2025

December 30, 2025 By neilho27@sky.com

With the count coming in at 44 it was a poor showing on the gig front for 2025 for me, it was a clusterfuck of a year with a mixture of poor physical & mental health curtailing, with a certain irony given the dopamine boost live music brings, my gig going somewhat and also curtailing my writing. I probably missed just as many gigs I’d planned to attend as I actually attended, and among these missed events I’m sure would have been some guaranteed to be amongst the best of the year.

As it was, every gig played it’s part in making it a successful year of gig going despite the high number of missed dates…

The Second House Guest Festival in April alongside Tenement Trail in October were two obvious highlights of the gig going year giving the opportunity to see a whole host of bands who are all part of the reason the live music scene in Scotland is in such rude health, and they also sewed the seeds of an idea in my head that should be coming to fruition imminently despite a delay in the planned announcement…

Several bands had me return to see them time and again, each time proving their worth and playing cracking sets (equally there were bands I had tickets to see several times and didn’t make any of their gigs…).… Read the rest

Miki Berenyi Trio & f.o. machete – Live in Sleazys

December 21, 2025 By neilho27@sky.com

It was the last gig of 2025 for me, so what better way to bow out than in the company of one my favourite bands who also happened to be the purveyors of one of my albums of the year (a list which I’ve not even considered yet, and given that I missed a whole chunk of the year needs a bit of thought…) and also in the presence of a singer who I last saw in what I fear was as far back as 1994 in King Tuts if my memory serves with her first band Lush, so I was well overdue a re-acquaintance.… Read the rest

Water Machine/Maz and the Phantasms/Vibrator/Junk Pups – Live Review – Palestine Red Crescent Society Benefit

December 17, 2025 By neilho27@sky.com

My third from last gig in 2025… in a year when I seem to have missed more gigs than I managed to get along to for a combination of reasons not worth going into here..Let’s just say I need to resolve to ensure 2026 is much of a shit storm than 2025…

There was the potential for me to be missing this one too, but with this line up, plus the knowledge that this would be the last ever outing for Junk Pups it was a no brainer to pull out all the stops and make it by hook or crook.… Read the rest

Pick of the Gigs for December

December 6, 2025 By neilho27@sky.com

For reasons too boring to go into, the last part of Novembers Singles round up hasn’t yet been completed, and the pick of the gigs for December is appearing a week into the month with some top gigs already passed…

My first week in December didn’t quite go as planned… the pattern of missing more gigs than I’ve seen in 2025 continues having missed Gutterblood’s first Glasgow gig last Wednesday. My ticket for Thursday’s gig featuring The Liminanas supported by the brilliant Scorpio Leisure also went a-begging AND even with the best will in the world I was never making t back to Glasgow for the 5pm launch of Lacuna’s new EP Nest in Assai on Friday afternoon… Let’s hope 2026 is a better year for so many reasons.… Read the rest

Son of the Right Hand – EP launch gig – Glad Cafe

November 15, 2025 By neilho27@sky.com

It had been too long since I’d been at a gig in the Glad Cafe, especially considering that it and The Rum Shack are my local venues. It was especially great to walk into the venue knowing what I was going to witness, such is the beguiling and intriguing nature of the music of Son of the Right Hand. Clearly the feeling was mutual given the hubbub and upbeat buzz around the cosy and welcoming venue right from doors open. I had a good feeling that it was going to be a gig to remember.

Before the band got to officially launch their EP, we had two support bands to entertain us, with eclectic styles to mix things up a bit.… Read the rest

Pick of the Gigs for November AND October’s Singles Round Up

October 30, 2025 By neilho27@sky.com

Two birds, one stone and all that… November in Glasgow has some inviting offerings large and small, with the usual amount of gig clashes. While we’re here October served up some juicy morsels on the singles front…

Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start… Another multi venue offering comes Glasgow’s way in the 1st of the month, with Scottish Music Collective serving up a smorgasbord of some of the best young talent Scotland has to offer. Fheadain takes place in Stereo and The Old Hairdressers, and the festivities kick off in The Old Hairdressers at 2.30 in the afternoon with Lint Bin, followed by Vacant Pavements, Awful Eyes, Puppy Teeth, Milange, PVC, PSweatpants, Straid and The Froobz, with Roller Disco Death Party winding things up at 10pm.… Read the rest

The Wytches – live in Nice n Sleazy

October 30, 2025 By neilho27@sky.com

I’m going to admit it right now. I knew next to nothing of The Wytches before I walked through the door of Nice n Sleazy. To find out when the band announced it from the stage that they have just released album number FIVE, my first thought was, seriously were this lot recording albums when they were but mere foetuses? 

I know that sounded like the old “Aren’t doctors getting younger days” cliché…anyway before the Brighton four piece took to the stage it was the turn of Newcastle’s Melanie Baker, both lead singer and band name…, they played an outstanding support set of new songs “all these songs are unreleased” as they unleashed a set of quirky energetic indie rock songs with themes of everything from basically telling people to mind their own business to….… Read the rest