It’s the third and final day of TRNSMT 2023 and it was clear from the off that attendance figures have dropped slightly from Saturday’s sellout. No complaints from this reviewer as getting around the site was a much less daunting proposition.
Just as they did last year, The Crawlers were tasked with shaking everyone out of their Sunday morning slumber, only this year it’s from the Main Stage. It’s clear Holly Minto has really evolved as a performer in the last 12 months, a whirling dervish of energy and angst and delivers their brand of emotionally charged rock with aplomb.
Next stop is King Tut’s for Glasgow’s own Lucia & the Best Boys (and girl). The band are built around vocalist Lucia Fairfull with a supporting cast that reads like a who’s who of the vibrant Glasgow music scene, with members of Medicine Cabinet and Ninth Wave adding to an already impressive ensemble. Their sophisticated, 80’s tinged indie pop, a much needed ray of sunshine after yesterday’s deluge.
Over on the Main Stage, goth popsters Pale Waves pulled in the first big crowd of the day. The striking presence of Heather Baron-Gracie stalked the stage in her bright red platforms and matching mini-kilt as the band belted out a set of dark edged new wave anthems.
London based indie punks Dream Wife are no strangers to listeners of BBC 6 Music’s Marc Riley but for many here, this was likely their first exposure to the spiky melodramatic charms of Rakel Mjöll and band mates Bella Podpadec and Alice Go. Their short set started off with the brooding LP title track Social Lubrication which saw Podpadec high kicking her way around the stage to the pile driving groove. Set highlights included the sugar sweet Hasta La Vista and Who Do You Wanna Be? If you like your music slightly off kilter with liberal sprinkles of punk spirit and satire, Dream Wife are definitely a band worthy of your attention.
Liverpudlian troubadour Jamie Webster, back at TRNSMT for the second year running but this years he’d graduated from King Tut’s to the Main Stage. His socially conscious urban folk is certainly not lacking in power or emotion and it’s clear he’s a passionate lad who wears his heart on his sleeve. Sadly, beyond the universally accepted view that the Tory’s should f*k off to whence they came, it’s likely his heartfelt delivery and messaging was largely lost on the bulk of the very young audience eagerly awaiting their daily dose of sticky pop.
Maintaining the politically charged rhetoric over on King Tut’s were London duo Bob Vylan, otherwise known and Bobby and Bobbie on vocals and drums respectively. It was easily the stand out performance of the whole weekend. Nothing was spared a lyrical and sonic battering, with the band of crooks currently occupying Westminster taking a most of the flack! If only more artists had the courage to raise awareness of the social and racial injustices suffered in today’s society. The dreads and kilt combo could catch on.
Back in the leafy surrounds of The River Stage it was time for another fine band from Glasgow’s seemingly inexhaustible pool of talent, four piece, all girl indie rockers Uninvited. Their grunge infused sound, had me in mind of The Pixies which is no bad thing. It’s testament to how highly regarded they are when you saw who was in the crowd, various members of Swim School, Bottle Rockets, The Crawlers, Joy Hotel and Lucia (sans Best Boys) to name but a few. They can come play for me anytime, no invitation required
The Amazons sit somewhere in the musical wilderness between The Foo Fighters and The Stereophonics. The heavier sound of their earlier work has given way to a songwriting style geared more towards mainstream appeal. Live, the power and aggressive guitar are still there so they still make for a perfect festival band and they draw in a good crowd.
Royal Blood, possibly still miffed about their Radio 1 Big Weekend debacle decided to quell any rumours of their demise by doing what they do best, shaking the east end of Glasgow to its core with their minimalist take on the heavy rock genre. Certainly stopped the audience from falling into an early evening lull in energy levels.
Headlining the main stage are the band and their frontman that seem to be everywhere this year, either at the top of every festival bill or headlining the tabloids with the latest salacious details about Matty Healy’s love life, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it’s time for The 1975. Arriving on stage in a wheelie bin can be interpreted in may ways – a statement about the disposable nature of pop music? We won’t get into that here. What we get is pure entertainment and as the sun sets on TRNSMT for another year, 50,000 voices can be heard echoing out over the Gallowgate. It’s communal moments like that live long in the memory.
Check out our TRNSMT 2023 Day 1 coverage including Pulp >>
Check out our TRNSMT 2023 Day 2 coverage including Sam Fender & Kasabian >>
Words: Rob Alexander
Pictures: Calum Mackintosh @ayecandyphotography