WIZZ MAGAZINE
/
63
G L A S GOW
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Jim Gellatly recommends King
Tut’s Wah Wah Hut
“
King Tut’s
(
pictured below)
is
legendary and the downstairs bar has
got some lovely artwork on the wall
and bespoke gig posters for bands
like the White Stripes and Stereolab.
There’s a huge blackboard listing all
upcoming gigs. They also have their
own specially-brewed King Tut’s beer!”
272
a St Vincent Street, kingtuts.co.uk
●
Graeme MacDonald
recommends Bloc
“
Bloc was where I started doing
open-mic spots in Glasgow. It’s got free
live music on every night, is open late
and does brilliant pizza and pasta. And
on a Sunday afternoon, they have the
‘
Blochestra’, with up to 30 musicians
playing indie songs on trombones,
harps, violins and other instruments. It’s
really something to experience.”
117
Bath Street, twitter.com/BarBloc
●
Nicola Meighan
recommends Mono
“
The idea of a one-stop café-bar,
exhibition space, record shop and
music venue sounds like a tall order,
but Mono, and its in-house vinyl
emporium Monorail music, really has
it all. It’s a regular haunt for Glasgow
musicians and you’re guaranteed
great tunes, a warm welcome and
vegan-friendly food.”
12
King’s Court, monocafebar.com
HIP GLASGOW
MUSIC
HANGOUTS
any given night, you could stumble upon
home-grown pop, folk and indie acts
gigging in venues, arts spaces and pub
back-rooms, while avant-rock screams
out of one basement and hip-hop
swaggers out of another.”
Meighan points to bands like Belle
and Sebastian, Snow Patrol and Franz
Ferdinand, who used their time in Glasgow
as a launchpad to the big time. It’s become
a kind of blueprint, as ambitious musicians
head for the city to try and replicate the
career trajectory of their heroes. “There’s
also a historical resonance in many Glasgow
venues, and that’s probably quite inspiring,”
says Meighan. “The Barrowland has been
a fixture of the UK touring circuit since the
1980
s, and playing there is a landmark in
any band’s career.”
The next major addition to Glasgow’s
sprawling list of venues will be The Hydro,
a flying saucer-shaped 12,000-capacity
arena situated by the River Clyde.
Scheduled to open in September with early
gigs by Fleetwood Mac and Jessie J, it’ll
offer a more flexible alternative to the
busy but rather sterile Scottish Exhibition
and Conference Centre (SECC) next door.
“
I have a young daughter and I go to a lot
of big shows at the SECC,” says Gellatly.
“
And sometimes you don’t get the full
production because of height restrictions.
So I’m really looking forward to The Hydro.
It’s going to be good for the city and I
think it will essentially become Scotland’s
national arena.”
This Silent Forest have already played
headline shows at King Tut’s and the
Old Fruitmarket, but MacDonald
believes filling The Hydro might pose
a bigger challenge. “I think it will be a
long time before we’re able to sell that
place out!” he laughs. “It will definitely
be a distinctive-looking venue when it
opens. It looks like something out of
the
Independence Day
movie.”
Wizz Air now flies to and from
Glasgow International Airport
“
PLAYING THE BARROWLAND HAS
BEEN A LANDMARK IN THE CAREER
OF ANY UK TOURING BAND”
BELLE AND
SEBASTIAN ARE
ONE OF THE
BANDS THAT CUT
THEIR TEETH ON
GLASGOW’S
MUSIC SCENE
PHOTOS BY FIONA McKINLAY, ALAMY
