Sounds in the City
The west of Scotland has established an international reputation for its pulsating live music scene, but with up to 100 bands playing across the region most nights of the year, the choice can be overwhelming and the quality can vary wildly. In her regular listings column, Shannon Travers, host of a new independent internet TV show that highlights emerging Scottish music talent, suggests some choice upcoming shows to suit a range of budgets and tastes.
Iron Maiden
SECC | Wed 20 July | £37.50 (ticketmaster.co.uk)
Tickets have just gone on sale for Iron Maiden’s 2011 tour. The forthcoming shows will complement their recently released 15th album, Final Frontier.
Their live performances are a hedonistic cocktail of deafening noise and blinding lights, not to mention loaded with classics. With 80 million album sales in the past 30 years, the supergroup have built up a colossal following, so make sure you book early.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
O2 Academy | Mon 6 Dec | £18.50 (ticketweb.co.uk)
BRMC rose to prominence around the turn of the millennium along with their US garage rock contemporaries The Strokes and The White Stripes.
Although they never matched the commercial success of those bands, the San Franciscans continue to earn ecstatic live reviews. They have developed a slower psychedelic sound in recent years, but their current set also includes punchy early singles like ‘Spread Your Love’.
Gabrielle Aplin
Brel, Ashton Lane | Fri 3rd Dec | £5.00 (ticketmaster.co.uk)
For a more relaxing experience, you could do a lot worse than check out teenage Youtube sensation Gabrielle Aplin in Brel, an intimate Belgian bar in Glasgow’s west end.
The English singer-songwriter is completely self-taught on piano and acoustic guitar, but it’s her gentle, haunting voice that has earned her so much online attention.
