21 February 2011

Cherry. Popped. Rock 'n' Roll style.

Last weekend, I finally popped my King Tut's Wah Wah Hut (to give it its full name) cherry. For those not in the know, King Tut's is a legendary Glasgow venue where everyone who's anyone seems to have played on the way up (or, in Texas' case, on the way back down). It's probably most famous for being the venue where Creation Record's Alan McGee spotted a wee band called Oasis. He thought they were pretty good, signed them and the rest is...och, I'm not even going to say it.


Tut's is roughly the size of my living room (OK, maybe it's a wee bit bigger) and, as I've now discovered, a brilliant venue for the intimate rock 'n' roll experience. The thought of being at some of the gigs it's played host to in the past makes me go hugely weak at the knees. It's actually kind of mad that it's taken until now for me to go finally visit King Tut's given that I spent most of the 90s on buses and trains between Edinburgh and Glasgow going back and forth from the Barrowlands (another legendary Glasgow music venue, albeit a bigger one, frequently cited as a musician's favourite) and the SECC (a godforsaken anonymous metal barn) to see many an indie band. In fact, I've seen so many of these guys over the years:

Tim Burgess and Damon Albarn within touching distance? Yes please!
So many good bands. And Whitesnake. Gotta love a dude with a MASSIVE perm.
It's funny seeing bands name checked in the mid noughties (sorry, I hate that phrase but don't know what else to call that decade) that now fill stadiums willy nilly. And Natalie Imbruglia. And, yes, I just wanted an excuse to say willy nilly.
I'm missing the 1993 step which, no doubt, had Oasis on it. You can read the venue's history here if you so wish. I think it's really quite exciting!

Anyway, the lucky fella popping my Tut's cherry was Miles Kane, he of The Rascals and, er, Miles Kane fame and the-one-who-isn't-the-one-from-the-Arctic-Monkeys in The Last Shadow Puppets. Aw, he's a cute wee thing and he was really good. He rocks a nice dirty bass line (and his bassist looks like Jeff Goldblum's child which added a distinct comedy value to the whole thing. Not as much comedy as the fella near us who was Pat Sharp's face twin. Genius!) and does a fine job of creating indie choons you can dance to. I'll be honest, I don't have any of his stuff (except The Last Shadow Puppets) but isn't that part of the joy of going to a gig on a whim when you've heard a couple of songs you like - you might just end up enjoying it.

Miles Kane. He can do two things at once.
Working the crowd
Taking the business of rawking very seriously.

7 comments:

Helga said...

Aw,you went and got your cherry popped! I'm ever so proud!!
Rawking? Do explain!!
x

Vix said...

Well done! Nice to see my old man's still remembered on the steps (2000), he says his session there was a bit of a blur! xxx

Unknown said...

I bet it was Vix! I'd have LOVED to have been at that.

Helga, rawking is just a slight alternative to straight up rocking. I have no idea where the phrase comes from and, in fact, there's no difference between rocking and rawking - I imagine it came from a regional accent or summat!

Unknown said...

Oh I would LOVE to go there - rawk ON Llara! And... you said 'Och'!

Sarah xxx

daniela kate morosini said...

wow, so jealous! looks like fun :) xx

Gem said...

Love the steps, Suede and Manics are my fave bands.
Apparently Miles loves the groupies. Lots of great venues in Cardiff have closed down because of noise complaints. They built lots of luxury flats in the city centre and the residents don't like the noise. It's nice to see some venues surviving.
I'm going to see Frankie and the Heartstrings on Friday, can't wait.
xx

char said...

love the steps!! some great bands on there!