An indoor/outdoor festival at the Soundhaus? I won’t lie. The idea didn’t exactly fill me with confidence. However, I was soon won over by the commendable reworking of the “car park” – which, somehow, still remained a car park. Beyond the smell of burgers and tang of Red Stripe, music played also. Being on a tight schedule, I still managed to catch The Amazing Snakeheads and The Girobabies dishing out their respective musical beatings.
The legendary Hugh Reed (of Velvet Underpants notability) isn’t so commonly seen in Glasgow nowadays. So, step up ye Amazing Snakeheads! Essentially a proto-punk trio in the vein of the MC5 or Blue Cheer, these guys really don’t hold back. By keeping it reasonably simple musically, frontman Dale was given free reign to rap and holler (in the local vernacular!) in a manner that may not have been suitable for young children or Christians. The Amazing Snakeheads are the punch in the face you’ve been waiting for.
The “baffling ned punk” of The Girobabies followed, in conditions that perfectly suited their sound and agenda. Indeed, this Glasgow collective unleashed an unsubtle performance that threatened to provoke a fully-fledged insurrection among an understanding crowd. Mark, on vocals and polemics, seemed to be encouraging a shitstorm to be directed at the Conservative Party and fatcat bankers. The Girobabies are far from your average Glasgow band, yet they speak with an inexorable conviction that is missing from so many Glasgow people these days. One of Glasgow’s few “must see” bands.
Ah, the curse of the schedule! This was as much as time would allow me to see. So, to the bands that followed, I offer my apologies. Feel free to get in touch and I can catch you at another date.