GLASGOW is a city frequently famed for punching well above it’s weight in it’s dedication to live music. Glasgow’s most successful multi-format music festival Stag & Dagger has brought impressive acts to the city over the year’s and this is no exception. The date has become a staple in the country’s live calender, now in it’s sixth successive year, it boasts fifty plus acts across it’s eight stages on the city’s famous (not always for the right reasons) Sauchiehall Street. In true fashion the event was awash with drunken revellers and music critics itching to critique the next ‘hype’ bands paying their touring dues.
After spending the day catching local exports Honeyblood and Model Aeroplanes, the night starts with Jungle at the newly refurbished Art School Assembly Hall. The 500 capacity hall is washed out with smoke as the anonymous six-piece band take to the stage. The room for the next half an hour flakes into a sweat pit of neck curling good vibes. In a set reminiscent of somewhere between the lighter side of earlier Massive Attack records and obvious disco nods.
Next up, is Royal Blood at ABC2. One of the highlights, this band encapsulate the pure primal energy that makes two-piece rock bands still so viable. Unlike their contemporaries (Drenge, The Black Keys) Royal Blood hone a heavier hitting, more defined sound, no guitars, just a drummer and bassist / vocalist. Although some tracks in the set are hard to distinguish from the next, the overall output is strong. A live band that truly justify their hype.
This takes us to The Amazing Snakeheads at Nice N Sleazy. The primarily young, two hundred audience shoulder their way into Glasgow’s dingiest basement venue to catch the local band. Opening with single ‘Flatlining’, the release of tension is obvious from the beginning. The first four rows reiterate every word back at singer-turned-menacing-preacher, Dale Barclay, “No more lies, no more love, no more hate, no more hope”.
Guttural intensity spirals throughout the set climaxing in the closing track ‘Memories’, in which Barclay invites half of the venue on the stage. Drummer Jordon Hutchinson and bassist William Coombe play out the rest of the set as the venue descends into chaos, leaving the lasting impression that The Amazing Snakeheads are not just one of Glasgow’s most promising exports, but the most exciting.
The last two acts of the night take us back to the 02 ABC. First up is Albert Hammond Jr in the main hall, the festivals biggest venue. A set showcasing the guitarists solo efforts seems somewhat anti-climatic. A good set nonetheless, but the final highlight of the day is to come downstairs.
By the time singer, Lias Soudi of the Fat White Family takes to the stage the venue is already filled out with a now inebriated Glasgow crowd. A dishevelled figure reminiscent of a Stooges era Iggy Pop, Soudi commands the crowd like a demented pastor. The highlight comes in recent single ‘Touch The Leather’ (New York proto-punk style sleaze), when a member of the crowd projectile vomits over the second row, and receives applause for the action. A fitting end to the festival, Fat Whites set encapsulates the general feel of Glasgow’s pre-independence music scene – volatile and flourishing.
Stag & Dagger, a festival showcasing some of the best breaking local and touring talent housed in a friendly and well organized event. Roll on next year.
Conor Goldie
