LIVE REVIEW: Pale Waves, Bottle Rockets, La belle Angele, Edinburgh, 11/08/2026
Photo Credit: Kelsi Luck
What a time to be in Edinburgh, the international festival is well under way and the sun is shining … and Manchester’s Pale Waves are playing two shows in Auld Reekie – a 1pm matinee show and an evening show – the latter is the one we are attending. And with Glasgow’s ‘hidden gem’ Bottle Rockets supporting we are in for a top night of music.
It was under two weeks ago that we had the privilege of seeing Pale Waves at the Y Not Festival, in fact we even caught the sound check and had a sneaky five minute interview with the band too that you can read soon. Bottle Rockets released debut EP Father’s Daughter a few months ago and the band say it is a new Bottle Rockets era, we completely agree! Vocalist Kenzi Murray tells us how honoured the band are to be supporting Pale Waves, they have been massive fans for years, Murray doesn’t put a note wrong during the half-hour set, the new songs fit in so well among the more established ones; Home, Haven’t Seen You In A While and Won’t Speak Again in particular are played perfectly. Guitarist John Tamburrini impresses us so much with his style of playing with some of the music being played in a shoe-gaze style, the five hundred or so in the sweaty La Belle Angele venue are enjoying what they are hearing. Community Service is always our go to track from Bottle Rockets, there are lots of moments to join in with the vocals during this one, the Glasgow band seem to be taking things really slowly but when word gets around about them then the only way is up! 9/10
Last year when we watched Pale Waves headline the Tenement Trail at Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom they were a four-piece outfit, that number has now become three after the departure of guitarist Hugo Silvani, we did wonder after that announcement who would take over on lead guitar, the answer to that is Heather Baron-Gracie who also excels on vocals tonight, Charlie Wood (bass) and Ciara Doran (drums) have been with the band since their humble beginnings way back in 2014. The set gets off to a great start with Eighteen, Perfume and Television Romance, the crowd are singing every word back to the stage raising the temperature in the basement venue, the original venue was burned to the ground in a 2002 fire after hosting breakthrough shows from the likes of Radiohead and Oasis but was thankfully rebuilt in 2014.
Heather tells us that the band have never played in Edinburgh until earlier today, that took us by surprise for a band that have been around for so long, the set continues with the always passionate Glasgow, a song that resonates with us as it’s our home city and it’s one of the best of the eleven-track set. We then get the most perfect cover of Cranberries song Zombie that you will ever hear, Heather is on top form for this one as are the crowd – we are all singing along at the top of our lungs – for a song that is so well known the world over. Charlie Wood is in good form tonight, telling us that he has had a few drinks in between the matinee and evening sets and Heather requests a shot be brought up to the stage during the performance for what ends up a ‘taps aff’ moment as we say in Glasgow. When he asks what song they want to hear next, screams of “Red” from the audience lead to Charlie telling them bluntly “we’re not fucking playing that one tonight”!
Taken from the 2024 album Smitten, Not A Love Song has all three band members having great fun on the stage, as are the crowd and She’s My Religion does pretty much the same. The end of the set pushes the energy levels up as they work through There’s A Honey, Kiss Me Again and Jealousy that ended a short but sweet set filled with a style of rock/pop that transports us back in time. Pale Waves are currently working on album number five, we can’t wait to hear it now, look out for the Bring The Noise interview with the band. 9/10
Written by: Alan Brown
