Glasgow was literally on fire while MGK played this Sunday night!
Supporting act Julia Wolf, a rising alt-pop artist, took to the stage just as the arena was already filling up. The best turnout for an opening act at the Hydro I’ve seen in a long time.
Wolf appeared almost nervous on stage with almost timid appreciative comments being made by the singer throughout her set. Despite her apparent nervousness, Wolf was able to perform some beautiful songs, showing off her vocal talents. With atmospheric beats and a beautiful voice, she delivered a short but engaging set that balanced emotional vulnerability with a little bit of attitude.
I felt it a shame to see that the audience didn’t seem to respond strongly to the singer. I found many people more occupied with their own conversations rather than watching the opening show. In my opinion, Julia Wolf did a fantastic job with great lyrics and a voice to be proud of and I’m sorry she didn’t get the reception I think she deserves from the Glasgow crowd.
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When the lights dropped for MGK, the Hydro erupted. Emerging from the mouth of a vaguely scary-looking Lady Liberty, MGK wasted no time launching into a high-energy opening with songs from his Lost Americana album, that quickly turned the standing floor into a bouncing sea of fans.
Between songs, MGK took multiple moments to speak with the Glasgow audience, repeatedly praising the city’s energy and joking about the weather outside. It’s a connection MGK has always seemed to make a point to make with his fans.
The production matched the scale of the arenas MGK has been headlining; huge props, background dancers, towering screens, dramatic lighting, and bursts of pyro gave the performance a high production feel. Yet despite all the stage theatrics, MGK kept a lot of the focus on crowd interaction, pointing the mic toward fans, encouraging the audience to jump, scream, and sing along and even running through the crowd for a more heart-to-heart cluster of songs.
This majority stripped-back session came with a heavier tone and some realer moments from the singer as well as some covers and kind words from his neighbour who had crossed the pond to be there.
He ended his “B Stage” set by running back through the crowd to “Emo Girl”. A song, I will admit, had become a bit of a meme in my friend group so it was a weird song of whimsical feeling hearing it live. I won’t lie, I kinda loved it.
Back on the main stage, MGK hit us with more of his rock-leaning tunes. Most surprising of all was his song “DAYWALKER!”. I’m unsure if anyone else was surprised hearing this song but it was an unexpected pull from MGK’s discography which I was incredibly excited about.
He led on from this with a batch of hits off his Tickets to My Downfall album and the crowd ate that shit up. Dancing and singing along like their lives depended on it.
Taking it back down on this self-described rollercoaster of a show, MGK once again played more emotional tunes with “twin flame” and a song that always smacks me in the chest, “play this when i’m gone”. Props to MGK for being able to play that live and to be able to play it so well.
Glasgow crowds have built a reputation for being among the loudest in the UK, and this show only reinforced it. Every chorus echoed around the arena and even the quieter moments were met with hundreds of phone lights swaying across the Hydro.
By the time MGK closed the set, with a few more hits from Lost Americana, I had found myself sat wanting to see more.
I am a huge fan of MGK’s Tickets to My Downfall album and genuinely think it’s brilliant. But after having had mixed feelings about his previous Mainstream Sellout album, I wasn’t sure what to expect with his newer music, but I ended the night a firm fan of not just his 2020 breakout album but also of his wider discography. (I’ve been singing “Goddamn” all week!)
He is an artist whose career has been an interesting one to watch and one I’ll definitely continue to keep up with. I’m excited to see what he does next.
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Photos by Skull Lens
