Your weekly round-up of the hottest music events around the city every week. Check back regularly or follow Get Out Glasgow on Twitter or Facebook to stay up to date. Be sure to check the bottom of the post for full listings, and take a minute to let us know your own highlights via your choice of social media.
It’s a pretty great week all around for music in Glasgow, with too many highlights to choose from (though Oneohtrix Point Never would be my top pick). But one event overshadows them all: and not for entirely good reasons. Yes, this week sees the (eventual) début of Glasgow’s latest music venue, The Hydro. You know, that big UFO thing they’ve built next to the SECC? Supposedly constructed to accommodate the ‘bigger’ artists who previously bypassed Glasgow because of a lack of venues big enough to contain their egos, the £125 Million ‘music colosseum’ officially opened its doors last week with a performance from Admiral Fallow. Footage on the news of the folk/popsters struggling against the oppressive expanse of the venue was telling. Many Glasgow folk bemoan the ‘aircraft hanger’ acoustics of the SECC, but it seems unlikely that The Hydro will be any different. At least now though Glasgow has a big soulless venue to match the likes of the O2 in London or the horrifically named Phones 4u Arena in Manchester. At least this one was built specifically for concerts.
As is standard practice with these kinds of places, the bigger the venue the more money you can be expected to pay for the privilege of kinda getting to see your favorite megastar act. Just look at the price tag for Rod Stewart, performing not once, but five times this week at £60 a go. It’s hard to believe that there are enough people out there still eager to see Rod, now increasingly resembling his South Park appearance, over one night, never mind five. Also playing this week, Fleetwood Mac, still trucking along nearly 23 years since their last worthwhile album. Now firmly in nostalgia mode the London shows featured special guests from iterations past, as well as a setlist heavy on Rumours era songs. You know, the good album. Future acts include Bruno Mars, Jessie J, Peter Gabriel, Arctic Monkeys, Stereophonics and Nickelback (!!!). The venue will also be hosting stand-up comedy, because nothing says funny like a massive, atmosphere free arena. Though when the comics include Micky Flanagan and Russell Howard we’re not really talking comedy are we?
But, hey, you know, I might be wrong. Maybe the place is amazing. Every seat is apparently customized according to the owners, though for whom isn’t entirely clear. At least it’ll bring the bigger acts to Scotland, but the ones that really matter, like The Boss, already came here. One thing I’m sure The Hydro will be perfect for is the Commonwealth Games in around a year’s time. After all, it’s apparently inspired by Roman amphitheaters. So there’s that. Maybe one day it’ll become a Glasgow institution, a Barrowlands rather than an SECC, but for now we should just be content that it actually opened. And that it gives Wet Wet Wet somewhere new to play.
Full Listings
| Monday 30 September | |
| Rod Stewart | The Hydro | £60 | 6.30pm |
| Miles Kane | Barrowlands | £17.50 | 7pm |
| Tuesday 1 October | |
| Finntroll/Tyr/Skalmõld | Classic Grand | £16 | 7pm |
| Keston Cobblers Club | Nice ‘N’ Sleazy | £5 | 7.30pm |
| More Than Conquerors/Mechanical Smile | King Tut’s | £7 | 8pm |
| Oneohtrix Point Never | CCA | £12 | 8pm |
| Wednesday 2 October | |
| Xibalba/Heirophant/Frontline | Classic Grand | £8 | 6.30pm |
| Rod Stewart | The Hydro | £60 | 6.30pm |
| The Revellers | Maggie May’s | £5 | 7pm |
| Judy Collins | Oran Mor | £21 | 7pm |
| Israel Nash Gripka/The First Charge of The Light Brigade | O2 ABC | £12 | 7.30pm |
| Johnny Borrell and Zazou/Pat Dam Smyth/Z Berg | King Tut’s | £10 | 8.30pm |
| Thursday 3 October | |
| Monuments/Dead Letter Circus/From Sorrow to Serenity | Classic Grand | £8 | 7pm |
| Foxes | O2 ABC | £7 | 7pm |
| Louise Cairns | Glad Cafe | £7 | 7.30pm |
| The Little Illusions/Baby Strange/Semper-Fi | Stereo | £6 | 7.30pm |
| Eagleowl/Jonnie Common/Prehistoric Friends | Mono | £6 | 7.30pm |
| Fleetwood Mac | The Hydro | £45 | 8pm |
| Gramme/Nevada Base/Crash Club | Broadcast | £6 | 8pm |
| Mike Nisbet/Joe Black/Erin Todd/Tg Elias | The Art School | £5 | 8pm |
| Spear of Destiny/Catcher | King Tut’s | £13.50 | 8.30pm |
| Friday 4 October | |
| Rod Stewart | The Hydro | £60 | 6.30pm |
| King Krule | Broadcast | £7 | 7pm |
| Funeral for a Friend | The Garage | £14 | 7pm |
| Bonobo/Dauwd | O2 ABC | £15 | 7pm |
| Luka Bloom | Oran Mor | £18 | 7pm |
| Eastern Promise ft. James Yorkston/Trembling Bells and Mike Heron/Alasdair Roberts/James Blackshaw/Jozef Van Wissem. | Platform | £15 (Weekend) | 7pm |
| Casual Sex. | CCA | £6 | 7.30pm |
| Superfood/The Wytches/Maxixe | Nice ‘N’ Sleazy | FREE | 7.30pm |
| Black International/Aggi Doom/Tuff Love | The Flying Duck | £5 | 7.30pm |
| Drenge/Radkey/Blindfolds | King Tut’s | £8 | 8pm |
| The John Langan Band | Stereo | £5 | 11pm |
| Saturday 5 October | |
| Rod Stewart | The Hydro | £60 | 6.30pm |
| Kids in Glass Houses/Cartel/Propellers | The Garage | £13.50 | 7pm |
| Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires | O2 ABC | £18.50 | 7pm |
| Armin Van Buuren | O2 Academy | £25 | 7pm |
| Sleeping with Sirens | Barrowlands | £16 | 7pm |
| Ceti/Thrashist Regime | Nice ‘N’ Sleazy | £8 | 7.30pm |
| Spacehog/We Were Kings | King Tut’s | £8 | 8.30pm |
| Sunday 6 October | |
| Devon Sproule | Glad Cafe | £11 | 3.30pm |
| Meltit Festival ft. To Kill Achilles/The Colour Pink is Gay/The Recovery!/She Cried Wolf/Citagazi/Grader/Heavy Hands/Disguise Your Beauty/Prelude to the Hunt/Rainfalls/Lifeliners/Winters/Swallows/Voe/Yeah Detroit. | Nice ‘N’ Sleazy/Broadcast/The Art School | £7 | 6pm |
| Bruno Mars | The Hydro | £38.50 | 6.30pm |
| Everything Everything | O2 ABC | £15 | 7pm |
| Tenniscoats | Mono | £8 | 7.30pm |
| Scholars/Picnic Basket Nosedive | King Tut’s | £6 | 8.30pm |
Remember to connect with us on Twitter or Facebook if you’re getting out to anything this week, or be sure to let us know about any absolute must-sees which we happen to have missed.
