The Courtesans are an all-female band hailing from London that I’ve had my eye on recently and got interested in not long after discovering their music. As luck would have it, they were to be playing Glasgow with a few of my good friends supporting, so a ticket was bought and I headed down to Audio to catch the ladies in action.

28 mph would kick off the show with a decent set of grungy rock tunes that had the audience bopping their heads to every note. With the combination of a frontman that was really into it, solid riffs and bass work, and highlights including the fast-paced Gasoline, they made for a great opener.

Metal outfit Splintered Halo were next to take to the stage, and boy did they make their presence felt, delivering a wicked performance of heavy, catchy high-tempo numbers. Evelyn was a highly charismatic and talented vocalist, whether singing cleanly or fiercely dishing out the equivalent of cougar roars. Their rendition of No Limit was brilliant and Addicted got the crowd’s seal of approval. It was my first time seeing this band, and they made one hell of an impact. Consider me a fan.

After that insanity, it was Megalomatic‘s turn, and again they showed why they are one of the best upcoming live bands in all of Glasgow right now, playing a set with such a sheer, explosive energy behind it that had everyone in attendance hooked. As always, I admired lead man Craig’s vocal style and the rest of the band backed him up with cracking guitar, bass and drum work throughout. Their newer material showcased the growth and continuing development of their music as they produced longer, more complex songs. In standard Megalomatic fashion, they jumped between being on and off the stage and getting in among the people, even briefly ending up outside the building altogether. These guys only get better with time, and if they keep this momentum going, they will definitely go far.

And now for the main attraction of the evening: The Courtesans, who took the venue by storm. The femme fatales presented a spell binding performance that retained the crowd’s undivided attention throughout and sent them on a hypnotic musical ride like no other, highlighted by tunes such as Hard Man To Kill, The Power Of Love and the always popular Genius. Capping off with a well deserved encore, it was a very unique and captivating experience. I was glad to have witnessed it, and if they choose to return, I’ll be very quick in purchasing a ticket to relive it all again.