Glasvegas (Live)

Live review for The Skinny

glasvegas @ cabaret voltaire, edinburgh, 7 dec (****)

In a way, it’s ridiculous that Glasvegas should already be receiving such hype on the basis of just five songs. But on the other hand, the way people of all ages are responding to the handful of tracks made available on MySpace is incredible. It’s like an Oasis crowd, with gangs of men and boys hugging and punching the air and singing along from the depths of their throats. They’ve only recorded half an album, but tonight this Cab Vol crowd knows all the words. Glasvegas’ anthemic choruses are wrapped in a dreamy haze, just as the band are obscured by red smoke, but there’s emotional gravitas here too, particularly in their revelatory first single Daddy’s Gone. It’s no surprise when their sixth and final song of the evening is a cover of the Ronettes’ Be My Baby; it clearly inspires everything they do. If Glasvegas can continue to re-contextualise one of the 20th century’s greatest pop songs for the 21st, there’ll be no stopping them.