Preview: Glasvegas @ Emo's [Tonight]

It could be argued that longstanding local establishment Emo’s has had a slight dip in fortunes but the venue seems to be returning to its past days of glory with some stellar shows of late. Henry Rollins, Deer Tick, Neil Hamburger, and De La Soul have all graced the club with their presence recently, and tonight, Emo’s readies itself for Glasvegas.

The Scottish band’s meteoric rise began in 2007 when the “Daddy’s Gone” single caught the ear of critics and immediately the band’s undeniable hooks, earnest lyricism, and arena-ready anthems earned them a sizeable following on both sides of the pond. Austin was fortunate enough to catch Glasvegas in all their glory at multiple gigs this past SXSW. And thankfully, at Emo’s tonight, we get one more chance this year to take in their huge sound at a smallish venue.

U.K.’s perennial hype machine NME dubbed Glasvegas “The Best New Band in Britain” in 2008 but fortunately that has not turned out to be a curse (as it has been for some previous NME darlings). In January, Q placed Glasvegas in The 50 Best Albums of 2008 list while last month, it was named as one of the 20 Best Albums of 2009…So Far by SPIN. (The album was released in 2008 in the U.K. and in 2009 in the U.S.) Glasvegas was shortlisted as one of the Barclaycard Mercury Prize Albums of the Year in July with the winner to be announced in September.

After this evening’s show at Emo’s, the Scots head on to Dallas and Lawrence, KS, with a taping for countryman Craig Ferguson’s The Late Late Show on CBS also included in their busy schedule. Glasvegas then perform at this year’s Lollapalooza festival on Saturday, August 8th.

[Glasvegas MySpace]
[Ida Maria MySpace]