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

Glasgow's got the X Factor

Deviating slightly from my usual topic of 'pop-punk in Glasgow', I'm going to discuss yesterdays 'X Factor' tour at the SECC. 

My Mum decided to surprise me and my 7 year old brother to 'X Factor' tour tickets as our Christmas presents. We were both pretty excited and I was looking forward to sharing my experience with my little brother - it was his very first concert. I remember how I felt before my first concert, Steps, around '99, also at the SECC. The anticipation of walking down the long tunnel, over the motorway. The smell of the burger van outside. Knowing you had your tickets as you were watching others buying them from touts.

My little brother Callum standing outside the SECC before the show

For someone who shows little emotional expression, I could tell he was excited as he entered the arena yesterday and said "Wow! This is awesome". The concert was held in Hall 4, the biggest space available at the secc with a capacity of up to 12,500 people. Already you could tell there was to be a host of show spectaculars with multiple stages, harnesses from the ceilings, large screens and many stage props.

Little Mix suspended from ceiling, image courtesy of  tellymix.co.uk

Sitting on the raised seating meant there was no giant in-front of you blocking your view - good for the wee one. However I don't think he was impressed when nearly all the acts at some point walked through the floor crowd and we were unable to see.

Amelia Lily performs 'Since U Been Gone' whilst walking through the crowd

In terms of the additions to the performances - the set, lighting, fire and glitter - it was all very overwhelming, however I felt the actual acts and their timings to be rather disappointing. As each act came on and came on again for 1 or 2 songs each time there was no real grasp for our attention. Every time someone left the stage and we waited for a new act to appear, I felt a little bored and un-exhilarated.

We all seemed to be a little confused as to why the X Factor 2011 winners 'Little Mix' didn't come on till the very end. Although we agreed they deserved a little longer than the rest and a defining block of stage time, we felt an appearance earlier on in the show would have heightened excitement.

Little Mix perform 'You've Got the Love

Overall, the performances in terms of vocal ability and stage presence were outstanding and it seemed obvious why these acts had came to be in the final in last years competition. I do feel however that the crowd were a bit of a letdown. I don't know if this was due to the fact there was a large percentage of <10 year olds who seemed to be at their first concert and unaware of how to raise an atmosphere or due to the fact I was extremely hungover from a 21st the night before.

X Factor hosts a live tour every year from the majority of 'live show' acts and SECC are continuing to be the venue for Glasgow's appearance. Tickets can be found on the Ticketmaster website and are usually in the £30-£40 region. I would recommend the tour to any avid X Factor fans/children (the Brother once again emphasised the "awesomeness" of the day) however, as I wasn't largely interested in this years contestants, I felt the money would have been spent better elsewhere.

King Tut's WAH WAH HUT

NME describes King Tut's as "quite possibly the finest small venue in the world", so on that note, this deserves to be kept short.


King Tuts started back in 1990 and has had growing success ever since. Host to a wide variety of music from mainstream to unsigned acts and the lively atmosphere it exhumes, this has led the venue to be named BBC Radio 1's "UK's best live venue" for three years in a row.

The stairs up to the main hall showcase the array of artists who have performed here over the years

On first arrival at the venue, it seems nothing more than a small pub with friendly bar staff and the smell of tasty (cheap) food. However, once you get past that first room, ticket in hand and up the stairs, you can really see where the magic is. For a venue, you can't get more up close and personal than here. No matter where you stand, the stage is unlikely to be more than 20 metres from you and this provides not only viewing satisfaction, but great acoustics to the room.

Hometown Heroes, 'Biffy Clyro' perform at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in 2005

Fully equipped with a bar a couple feet away, a gig at King Tuts is bound to be a memorable night.

The small venue has helped many bands on their way to success. One of the more notable stories tells of how Oasis were signed by Alan McGee after seeing them play at King Tut's.

I've seen two bands play the King Tut's venue, first was in the pub down stairs. My friends Dad's band, The John McIain Band, were making their first Glasgow appearance (based in Perth) and I'd say King Tut's isn't a bad place to start. You can find them here.

Secondly was another band originally from Perth. The boys of Poor Things are friends of mine so I was immensely happy for them when I got to see them perform on the main stage at King Tuts Wah Wah Hut.

To learn more about the venue, it's histories and upcoming events, visit the website below.

KING TUT'S WAH WAH HUT

"Hello Glasgow!"

Hello all in Bloggersphere,

Gonna fire right in to this and list the reasons why I think YOU should subscribe...

1. This is the only 'pop-punk', glasgow area blog I could find (I dare you to search(and post them here if you find any :p))
2. For those of you in to a wider variety of music, there will be slight deviation from the pop-punk genre
3. There will be a number of reviews on the following;
1. Gigs
2. Venues
3. Bands/Artists
4. I will contact for interview up and coming/ already established/ slowly approaching the grave pop-punk acts within the Glasgow/Strathclyde/Lanarkshire area.
5. For those of you not in Glasgow, there'll still be a lot of mention of those artists more international if I can find a reason to relate them slightly to Glasgow

Hope you enjoy and here's a wee video from American band 'All Time Low' who recently played at Glasgow's O2 Academy.