All Sides - Soundhouse, Bolton, 25/3/2011

by Dixie Ernill

published: 20 / 3 / 2011

All Sides - Soundhouse, Bolton, 25/3/2011

In an over indulgent show, Dixie Ernill finds that Glasvegas have lost a lot of their initial magix at the Bolton Soundhouse

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Last time I saw Glasvegas live was in a small Manchester venue when they had only released a couple of singles. I was blown away by the wonderful wall of sound made by a band barely visible as black silhouettes through a cloak of dry ice, and as such I was really up for tonight's long awaited second opportunity to see them perform. Sadly, sequels rarely live up to the original and tonight is no exception, not helped by the fact that the Soundhouse is a poor venue, with no beer on draft and toilets that rival the one featured in the movie 'Trainspotting'. Things start promisingly enough though with ace new track 'The World Is Yours/ from forthcoming second album, 'Euphoric///Heartbreak\\\', and 'It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry', which is sung back word for word by a clearly devoted and knowledgeable crowd, getting things underway in fine style. Too much of the rest of the set, however, slips into over indulgent U2 territory as singer James Allan, dressed all in white save for his trademark black shades, strutts around the stage with a lit up mic lead that starts to grate sooner than maybe it should. Much of the new material doesn't yet register and I'm sure that new single 'Euphoria' is in there somewhere, but I couldn't tell you where. Even older favourites like 'Geraldine' and 'Please Come Back Home' seemed to be stretched into bloated versions of their recorded selves and as such the magic of three years ago seems unnecessarily diluted. The mid set karaoke of 'Be My Baby' and 'Moon River' is a welcome diversion from the excess, but it's only when the riotous football terrace anthem of 'Go Square Go' is unleashed that the original essence of Glasvegas is finally revealed before a taut 'Ice Cream Van' closes the set. The stunning heartbreak of 'Daddy's Gone' rescues a floundering encore, but in truth I'm already thinking about what route to take home.