Photo Credit: Sam McGill
Fresh from headlining The Tenement Trail at Barrowlands Ballroom in October, Vistas were again back in Glasgow under a month later and this time headlining the O2 Academy. The Edinburgh band have a massive following and must be right up there as one of the best live bands in Scotland right now.
Brogeal are a five-piece band from Falkirk and they played a very lively set which can be described as folk music infused with rock. Being the first support band of the night, they worked through their back catalogue including You’ll Be Mine, Sunday Morning and Miss MCC. They worked the crowd well with bursts of accordion during each song, which were intertwined with guitars and the changing of vocalist for each song. Fans were also treated to their new single! Brogeal are supporting Rianne Downey at SWG3 next month and they should go down a treat! 8/10
Birmingham band Overpass have been building a steady following across the UK with their unique take on indie music with similarities to Editors. They have had a busy 2023 so far with festival appearances up and down the country. Vocalist Max Newbold announced during the set that they will be releasing their first EP in February 2024, much to the delight of the crowd. Recently released songs Alright and Beautiful were added to their setlist alongside their already established tracks 3AM, Right Time and a big finish with Other Side of Midnight. Overpass head out in early 2024 on their own headline tour and we would highly recommend checking them out. 8/10
2023 has been a big year for Vistas with the aforementioned headline at Tenement Trail after Circa Waves had to pull out a few days before. Their third album Is This All We Are? was released on 29th September and we would get to hear some tracks from that album tonight during their lively nineteen song set. The standing area was rammed full and just as The Boss was getting into Dancing In The Dark the lights went down and here come Vistas to a rapturous welcome from the crowd. The three-piece band are Prentice Robertson on vocals, guitarist Dylan Rush and bassist Jamie Law and they exploded into their first song Cruel Hearts, taken from the latest album. With the young crowd singing back the words and dancing away without a care in the world, that’s what Friday nights are all about!
Tigerblood, from debut album Everything Changes In The End, got the crowd bouncing and opening up the first circle pits of the night. This was followed by the title track from that said first album. The hour and ten-minute set flew past as the band said very little between songs and it was a seamless performance as the band tried to cram in as many songs as possible. Only four tracks were played from the recently released album, with the best left for last as Vistas ended the set with their most popular tracks Calm, Back of the Car, Stranger and Retrospect; by far their most popular song. Chatting to some fans afterwards there was a real sense that big things are on the horizon for Vistas, what does 2024 hold for this talented band?
Surprisingly the O2 Academy date is Vistas only Scottish date on this tour, with the band now heading down south for a fourteen-date tour before heading over to France, Netherlands and Germany later in November. 9/10
Written By: Alan Brown
