Poor Things

Having a wealth of friends 'in bands' I feel obliged to attempt to plug at least one of them so I've taken it upon myself to introduce 'Poor Things' (who I feel are the best band I know personally) to this blog.

Poor Things, from left to right; Richard Stratton, Gavin Redford and Craig Angus

These lads have a right history of making music amongst them and I remember one of their earliest bands when we all lived in Perth. 'Broxden' (named after a roundabout in Perth) consisted of four band members, Craig Angus, Richard Stratton, Gavin Redford (these 3 are in Poor Things) and Ethan Wylie. 

The boys have now grown up and moved on (literally - to Glasgow). Poor Things officially formed in late 2009 and changed their old Broxden style from indie to more alternative rock. They have a long history of live performances including Glasgow's famous 'King Tut's Wah Wah Hut'. 

Whilst doing a bit of research I figured the best information could only come from the band themselves. After Craig Angus told me what I thought was something interesting to quote, I asked if he was lead vocals (I remember a few of them singing when I saw them).

"and richard... it's a taking turns job, one of sharing and caring"

 I also asked him what he would class Poor Things genre as...

"alternative rock with a summery pop feel"

Poor Things Craig Angus performs at King Tuts, Jan 2011

Although I'd consider the members of Poor Things to be friends, it was nice to find that like their individual selves, as a band they can have a joke and don't take themselves to seriously. On their facebook page, found here, the boys have stated, rather humorously, in their bio that...

"Unlike other bands, none of Poor Things are full time smokers. Understand this is not for health reasons - they are just too afraid to go into the shop and ask for them."

In terms of succeeding in the music industry, I feel the boys have the right approach. They have fun, make good music and keep themselves in peoples heads by playing live regularly throughout Glasgow and Scotland as a whole.

Considering we're now on the brink of summer, I feel these guys make perfect music for the whole bbq/back garden/cider in your hand/sunburnt shoulders type of day. They're easy to listen to with catchy tunes that make you want to tap your feet. For 3 young guys their lyrics are also rather impressive and I believe they truly are brilliant songwriters.

Check out their recent track Miss World Contemplates below...

Poor Things are : Craig Angus (vocals/guitar/bass); Richard Stratton (vocals/bass/guitar); Gavin Redford (backing vocals/drums).

You can check them out at the links below

Facebook

Soundcloud

The Hydro

Do we really need another venue in Glasgow?


Apparently the answer is yes, we do!

And that's where The Hydro comes in. The Hydro Arena will be Scotland's newest entertainment venue, catering to music, sport, comedy and much more. The currently under construction venue will seat up to 12,000  and is set to take in an audience of 1 million per year.

The Hydro under construction, March 2012

Whilst walking past the construction site recently, I decided the foundations resembled that of a football (or other sports) stadium. The round structure and rapidly raised seating shows the extent to which they want to fit in as many people as they can.

I took to the streets to find out the publics opinions on the new venue.

Matt, 23 says

I don't understand why they're putting it so close to the SECC. It's already an inconvenient location for people who don't know Glasgow and the car park system is a nightmare. 

Hilda, 63 had a more positive outlook on the new Arena

The Commonwealth Games are coming in 2014 and I think everyone's excited at the prospect of a brand new venue for them. They can't expect to hold something as prestigious as the Games in the Kelvin Hall or the SECC can they?

As Matt pointed out, the Arena is being built within extremely close proximity to the SECC. However, is this really a bad thing? Yes and No. It could be disastrous for Glasgow public transport if there were to be an event in both venues on the same day. Also, as there are very little bus/train routes that go near the Queen's Dock, this could cause congestion during Commonwealth time. The positives that could come of this however is a boost of economy in the area. We may start to see other developments in the area, residential and commercial, and I certainly hope Glasgow City Council boost the transport available to the area.

Due to open in 2013, you can visit the official website here.

The 'Armadillo' (left) with Scotland's newest venue, The Hydro. Expected View of Queens Dock