While the weather remains inclement (it is Scotland after all), there are bursts of light in the shape of live music and Into Creative are delighted to highlight a few which are definitely worth checking out.  

Concert: She Drew The Gun
Venues: Edinburgh Voodoo Rooms, Glasgow Hug & Pint 
Dates:  23 & 24 February 2023

Having caught She Drew The Gun live last year at Drygate Brewery in Glasgow, the full band experience is something to behold. However, this time around we will see singer-songwriter Louisa Roach strip things back to basics as she undertakes a small U.K. tour with little more than a guitar for company. 

The unplugged set will comprise both music and poetry from her back catalogue and is sure to be a hot ticket. Known for hard hitting lyrics, psychedelic pop and an engaging stage presence, you better be quick to snap up any last minute briefs. 

Head over to the She Drew The Gun website here for more details. 

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Concert: Pet Needs
Venue: Glasgow, Room 2 
Date:  19 April 2023

Not a band to hang about, Colchester’s Pet Needs have released two albums in around a year and are about to hit the road supporting The Lottery Winners. 

The band have fast made their reputation with energetic live shows, leaving nothing in reserve and they will be in Glasgow in April, belting out their power punk tracks. So, my advice would be to grab a ticket now and make sure you get down early. 

A new single, Ibiza in Wintertime, has just been released and is a track from recent long player Primetime Entertainment which was produced by punk icon Frank Turner. Speaking about the track, vocalist Johnny Marriott said it was about “trying to remain creative, positive and to look after himself after a downward spiral, taking things to a more deeper, more personal level“.

Further afield, the band go out on their own headlining tour later in the year with dates in June at Glasgow’s Broadcast (1st), Aberdeen’s The Tunnels (2nd) and Edinburgh’s Sneaky Pete’s (3rd). 

Head over to the Pet Needs website here for more information. 

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Concert: The Black Angels
Venue: Glasgow, Queen Margaret Union
Date:  1 March 2023

Hailing from Austin, Texas, psych rockers The Black Angels have been making music for nigh on twenty years now and they remain one of the foremost and best psychedelic outfits going. 

Great to see them back and a gig at the QMU is just the ticket to hear them blast out their weirdness. The room will be dark, the sound filled with pulsating bass, distorted guitars, squealing feedback and drums that don’t miss a beat. With a new double album to promote in Wilderness of Mirrors and no doubt delving into their rich back catalogue, this is shaping up to be one of the early gigs of the year. 

The new album is probably their best in years and features 15 new tracks including single Empires Falling, of which the band say “Empires Falling is a critical and reflective plea that examines humanity’s repetitive art of mass destruction. As we say in the chorus “it’s history on repeat”. We are living in a Wilderness of Mirrors, where it’s hard to tell what’s right from wrong, up from down, or the truth from lies as we navigate through these times where the fate of humanity is being refracted and reflected from one state of panic to another. The world is a “bleeding animal” and we are left exhausted, polarized and “pleading from street to bloody street”. History has proven, time and time again, that without a drastic metamorphosis, from our leaders, politics and ultimately ourselves….you can be the one who saves yourself, or you can watch it all go to hell“. 

For more details on the new album and the U.K. tour, visit The Black Angels website here. 

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Concert: Eric Bibb
Venue: Edinburgh Queens Hall, Glasgow Saint Luke’s
Dates:  16 May & 17 May 2023

Now, when the great Bob Dylan offers advice, you listen. Talking about guitar playing, Dylan told the then eleven year old Bibb “keep it simple, forget about all that fancy stuff ” and the American singer-songwriter hasn’t looked back since in the passing sixty years. 

A career steeped in blues, Americana and world music, Bibb has recorded with the likes of Pops and Mavis Staples and toured with George Benson. New album Ridin’ is due to drop on 24 March and ahead of that Bibb has released a new single in The Ballad of John Howard Griffin. The album is heavily influenced by African American history and is sure to land well with existing and new fans. 

Talking about the inspiration for the new single Bibb said “John Howard Griffin, a brave white man, wanted to experience how it felt to be a black man in the segregated Jim Crow South. With medication and sunlamp treatments he turned his skin dark, shaved his head and toured America’s southern states as a “Negro”. He published his remarkable book ‘Black Like Me’ in 1961. The Ballad of John Howard Griffin came together quickly after reading the book a second time recently. It’s a tribute to his courageous journey“. 

Bibb is a fantastic storyteller through his lyrics and an accomplished musician. For more details on the upcoming album and U.K. tour, head over to his website here. 

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Concert: Dream Wife
Venue: Glasgow, TRNSMT Festival
Dates:  9 July 2023

Glasgow TRNSMT will play host to a plethora of bands, acts and artists over the July weekend but  if you want an early heads up on who to go see, look no further than Dream Wife. 

The London based trio will release their third album Social Lubrication a month before (June 09th) and recent singles Leech and Hot (Don’t Date A Musician) show a band on top form. Lyrically, sharp as a fucking tack, biting, funny while musically ripping it up with hints of L7, RATM and The B-52’s at play, this is a band you have to see. 

Speaking of the new single, vocalist Rakel said “Dating musicians is a nightmare. Evoking imagery of late night make-outs with fuckboy/girl/ambiguously-gendered musicians on their mattress after being seduced by song-writing chat. The roles being equally reversed. Having a laugh together and being able to poke fun at ourselves is very much at the heart of this band. This song encapsulates our shared sense of humour. Sonically it is the lovechild of CSS and Motorhead. It has our hard, live, rock edge combined with cheeky and playful vocals“.

For more details including other U.K. tour dates, visit the Dream Wife Bandcamp page here. 

 

John Welsh
@welshjb

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