Photo Credit: Kelsi Luck
Following the release of fourth album Smitten on 27th September, Pale Waves are now out on a UK tour and it’s the turn of Glasgow tonight for a sold-out show at SWG3 Galvanizers Hall in the West End. This tour had been hugely anticipated and the fans brought the energy even though it was a Sunday night. Smitten has barely been off our Spotify recently and we have been looking forward to this gig for weeks, especially more so when Edinburgh indie rock band Swim School were announced as the support. With the late train anxiety being quashed on arrival when we discovered that it was an 8pm start for Swim School it was time to relax and look forward to a great night of music ahead, we were lucky enough to see Swim School play a headline set at Saint Luke’s in May so we knew what to expect tonight, this tour with Pale Waves is the perfect opportunity to take their music to a wider audience with great success we have heard.
Swim School are Alice Johnson (vocals/guitar), Lewis Bunting (guitar) and Billy McMahon (drums) and it was an explosive opening with Seeing It Now as Alice captivated the audience from the word go. Continuing the set with Bored and the fantastic Kill You, this was the best of the half hour set for us. Vocalist Johnson commented that some people saw them as a shit version of Pale Waves, well nothing could be further from the truth, here is a band that have worked really hard to create their own unique style of music. They played a new track Anyway which went down well with the crowd, we’re looking forward to it being released in the near future, while Let Me Inside Your Head is played to perfection and is another standout from the set. The last track See Red ended the set in true rock style, all three band members are clearly working hard here and we are sure that Swim School have won over lots of new fans tonight. We hope to see them announce another headline tour for next year. 9/10
The stage has two chandeliers hanging from the ceiling not unlike the Smitten album cover as next big thing Chappell Roan blasts from the speakers, Pale Waves have a very big following in the gay community and are big supporters of all things LGBTQ+. Heather Baron-Gracie comments during the set that she loves two things: “Scotland and being fucking gay”. Two of the big tracks from Smitten start the set – Perfume and Not a Love Song – whipping the crowd into a frenzy and this is the energy that remains throughout the show. As the set continues with another well know song There’s a Honey, it’s surprising to hear this one so early in the set. Next up is a personal favourite in Gravity, one of the songs that have been playing almost continuously on Spotify recently and one of the best on the latest record. Taken from 2018 album My Mind Makes Noises, Drive has been added to the set for this tour while Television Romance is one of the best of the night, the crowd response is what you would expect from a Glasgow crowd. Last Train Home from Smitten is another delight to hear live, Baron-Gracie comments that Smitten is the best album they have released to date, we agree completely, there is not a bad song on there. we would get to hear seven tracks from the latest album tonight, the title of this track was very relevant for us tonight as we made the last train home by around 30 seconds!
The guy stood beside us seemed to record the full concert but with absolutely no enthusiasm at all throughout the night, we couldn’t help but wonder what is the point in being there? Our golden rule for any gig is one video and a few photos, but sometimes it seems crowds these days seem over obsessed with taking video instead of just letting go and being in the moment. Maybe we’re just getting old … Thinking About You and Kiss Me Again are two more from the Smitten album that have been added to the tour setlist and She’s My Religion is a great end to the main set as the band leave the stage to a massive cheer from the appreciative audience. They seem to take an age to re-appear but it was worth the wait as Heather Baron-Gracie returns in a tartan skirt and a Scotland top, her father is Scottish and this was the moment the fans had been waiting for… to hear Pale Waves play Glasgow … in Glasgow. The crowd don’t let us down, everyone is singing the chorus back to the stage, “When I left you in Glasgow/I remember crying all the way home/Yeah, I had to go and get myself out of there/Oh, ‘cause there was nothing left, nothing left for us to repair”. This was such a memorable moment from the night and there were flags and bras being thrown on to the stage to the delight of the band. There could only be one song to end the night … Jealousy, allowing the fans one last chance to exercise their vocal chords. Pale Waves can rest easy with the knowledge that this tour has been very successful with almost every concert sold out, they will be booking bigger venues for the next tour, Glasgow Barrowland anyone? 10/10
Written by: Alan Brown
