Connect 2008 Episode VIII: Glasvegas win over the doubters

Everything's been going pretty fast for Glasvegas recently. From a spot by Alan McGee, to a profile in The Skinny (the turning point, of course), to the cover of the NME, the hype's been building towards the release of their debut self-titled album next Monday (review/coronation here). But they remain a polarising band, attracting equal amounts of passionate distaste as passionate fandom. At T In The Park in July, they packed out the Futures Tent 20 minutes before the gig, and evoked a crowd reaction unlike any I've ever seen before. It wasn't even their best performance, but the crowd didn't notice - they went crazy from the moment the lights dimmed, yelling every lyric to every song with total abandon.

This was different. Playing late-afternoon on the second stage, Glasvegas again attracted a huge crowd, but these people were noticeably more sceptical. Glasvegas rose to the challenge with an incredible sounding set, the best these ears have ever heard them. The wall of sound was chunkier, bassier than ever before, it reverbarated over everyone's heads and through our bodies. Maybe they just turned the amps up to 11? Whatever, they won over thousands of Connect cynics, just in time for that album release.