Catfish and the bottlemen at Bellahouston
Katherine Dempsie
Catfish and The Bottlemen took to the stage at Bellahouston Park to headline this year’s Glasgow Summer Sessions, with support from Neon Waltz, Frank Carter & The RattleSnakes, Peace, DMA’s and Glasgow’s own Twin Atlantic.
Having been my first time hearing of, let alone seeing Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, I can definitely confirm their infectious energy. Frank Carter was mosh pitting WITH the crowd for the most part of their set, and when he wasn’t he was soaking up the energy of the crowd.
Following soon after was Peace, who had a far calmer set, not to be confused for a bad thing however, the band definitely delivered.
Despite the rest of the crowd seeming to enjoy their set, DMA’s who performed next disappointed me a little. I had heard such good things about them but just didn’t see what all the buzz was about. They did seem to capture the festival vibe perfectly, however.
Taking to the stage just before Catfish were Glasgow’s own Twin Atlantic. They undoubtedly had a number of fans there specifically to see them, with a packed out crowd that roared throughout their set, which included tunes such as The Chaser and Heart & Soul. The band were definitely happy to be performing, their frontman Sam McTrusty even described it as a dream come true as he explained he only lives down the road.
The sun set as Catfish took to the stage, the boys opened with ‘Homesick’ - a hit from their debut album, The Balcony. There were tens of thousands singing along with Van, I can’t imagine how loud it must have sounded from outside the venue.
It was quite the performance, with hits being played one after another from both their debut album and their acclaimed follow up album, ‘The Ride’. Highlights included Glasgow, with pretty much every spectator singing the lyrics back to Van, it felt a little euphoric, everyone singing a bit louder when he mentioned Sauchiehall Street or falling in love with Glasgow, you can understand why. Another would be the triple threat finale, with 7, Cocoon and Tyrants performed consecutively. Arguably, 7 is the best track from their second album so it was definitely a crowd pleaser. Tyrants was my personal favourite for sure though.
We also got a taste of what is to come from Catfish, coming to the end of their set they played their new tune for the first time in Scotland, ‘Fluctuate.’ It’s got Catfish written all over it and seems to be perfect for a live arena too. Fingers crossed that there’s more to come from them soon.
