Critic's choice - July 17

The Butthole Surfers
Sun, 7pm, ABC, 300 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, £16, 0870 4000 818

Though they may join the likes of The Pixies and My Bloody Valentine on the list of influential indie icons making a comeback with their legendary line-ups, the Butthole Surfers still seem a band built for the underground rather than larger stages such as the ABC. But it's their anarchic streak which makes the Texas-based alt-rock sonic terrorists still so intriguing, and which should ensure your devoted attendance on the most holy of weekdays - even if most of the sludgy sounds bound to assault your ears are likely to be anything but godly.

(Appeared in The Herald on July 17, 2008)

T in the Park 2008 review

Friday
Los Campesinos provided an ideal start to the weekend, with a perky, motivational brand of indie that seemed designed to get people into the right mood. But even they were a timid beast compared to Alphabeat who followed in King Tut's Wah Wah Tent, their unashamed pop stylings gloriously received by a crowd obviously craving a bit of camp.

The Radio 1/NME stage headliners The Chemical Brothers provided the sort of euphoria probably more suited to a final night. The ascendant guitar riff of Leave Home was just part of a frankly fearsome onslaught comprised of electronic beats and neuron-shredding noises.

Saturday
The disposition of Eddy Grant was so sunny that it managed to transcend the cloudy conditions overhead. Grant's reliably reggae-tinged rendition of Baby Come Back found the lunchtime Saturday crowd in their usual resplendent form. By contrast, Gun looked a little wary as they followed on the main stage. Recently reformed, their early-90s pomp rock seemed out of place and out of time, though their spirited cover of Cameo's Word Up is always guaranteed to get things going. In contrast, The Stranglers were living proof that classic songs breed longevity. King Tut's Wah Wah Tent was so full for their set that it proved impossible to get in for their glorious rendition of Golden Brown.

Even without their toplessness Biffy Clyro would have stunned onlookers on the main stage; it was a record-breaking eighth appearance for the Ayrshire band who should have even brighter days to look forward to if the rock-sodden, fist-punching finale of set standout 57 was anything to go by.

Erol Alkan provided an upbeat soundtrack in the Slam Tent, but main stage headliners Rage Against the Machine didn't so much crush the competition as sit astride them like giant rap-rock goliaths, reminding everyone of what they have been missing these past few years. Know Your Enemy and Vietnow were incendiary enough that the onslaughts should have been preceded by a safety warning. The highlight was the brilliant chaos of Killing In The Name. Vicious though it may be, it was a perfectly cathartic way to celebrate the festival's fifteenth anniversary.

Sunday
Sunday opened to some welcome glimpses of sunshine. Sadly, though perhaps with good reason, Bowling For Soup provided a shocking, painful hangover cure for the unfortunately unwary who sidled up to the main stage early on.

The US band's luridly juvenile pop-punk at least provided a nice contrast to the more welcome spasmodic metal lurchings of Mindless Self Indulgence, who created some entertaining moments of sheer unpredictability over at the Radio 1/NME stage.

A particular highlight came when the appropriately named Jimmy Urine batted away a thrown-on plastic pint cup of dubious contents. What better way to get things going early on a Sunday afternoon at T in the Park?

A euphoric presence manifests itself to a grateful audience in the form of British Sea Power, whose anthemic No Lucifer provides a suitably seismic explosion of epic indie-rock. After that the Slam Tent takes centre stage, where Miss Kittin and The Hacker initially dazzle with a live rendition of accessible techno-pop before the mighty Justice floored onlookers with an opening gambit of Genesis and Phantom (Part One). That Pendulum were on at the same time (in the Wah Wah Tent) was a pleasure almost too much to bear.

On, then, to the Relentess Stage, for two acts destined for much bigger things in the future. Holy F*** were simply a revelation, their organic take on electronic music building to such a crescendo that it's almost insulting to see it staged in such cosy environs. And The Presets, despite some technical hiccups, were a suitably exceptional end to the festivities, My People and I Go Hard, I Go Home proving particularly joyous.

Critic's choice - July 10

Red Sparowes

Thu, 7.30pm, Stereo, 20-28 Renfield Lane, Glasgow, £7, 0141 222 2254

Not so much a gig as the chance to experience first-hand a stunning, mind-altering sonic soundscape, Red Sparowes are not the sort of proposition you should use to aid a descent into some messy midweek binge drinking. They hail from Los Angeles, but you wouldn't know it from the swirling, gloomy post-rock they manage to parade on an epic scale, almost unimaginably grand given that the band are merely a superbly dextrous four-piece rather than a hundred-strong rock orchestra.

(Appeared in The Herald on July 10, 2008)

Critic's choice - July 3

My Bloody Valentine

Thu, 7pm, Barrowland, 244 Gallowgate, Glasgow, £22.50, 0870 220 1116

With some returns popping up you might be able to see one of My Bloody Valentine's comeback shows. If so, you'll catch the band who gave birth to shoegaze and whose influence can be felt years after the release of their last album, 1991's Loveless.

Forsaking the melodies that made their recorded work so enthralling, Kevin Shields's crew left fans clutching their grateful ears at the end of shows by employing deafening noise levels. Bring the ear plugs.

(Appeared in The Herald on July 3, 2008)