On the evening of the 20th of August 2026 I made my way down to the infamous King Tuts Wah Wah Hut to catch Human Renegade’s headline slot as part of the summer nights festival. I can admit I was most excited about this show not only because it was my last week of freedom before college starting but because the line up was packed with bands that I know and love and some acts I had yet to have had the pleasure of seeing.
For those who are not yet acquainted with headliners Human Renegade they are Glasgows very own 4 piece pop punk/emo legends who have been haunting the local scene for years, and are certainly no strangers to this stage as they’ve taken it many times before. I’ve managed to catch them live before and I have to say their performances never let the audience down and commands the rooms attention.
The first act of the night was the ever impressive three piece band Escape Goats. If you’re a fan of high energy music with a alternative punk edge to it these are definitely going to be the lads for you. I think what impressed me most about this act was the drummers ability to sing a few of the songs while keeping perfect time, thats a skill that can’t go unnoticed or uncommented on – I don’t think I heard a single missed beat the entire show and the singing still managed to stay clear and on key. I found myself thinking “some work out that must have be!”.
Throughout their performance an impressive crowd started to flow in which can be rare for the opening act so this showed that they’ve gained a certain respect from the local scene already which I think is well deserved. They managed to keep people hooked in with some real groovy sounds and there care free attitude – in between songs they got many laughs out of people by saying things such as “this ones for all the boiled eggs”.
Overall if someone asked me to rate these guys id have to give them a solid 10/10, if you’re looking for a fun night and somewhere to have a little wiggle an Escape Goats show is definitely the place to be.
As time went on and the venue began to fill out, it was My Beautiful Mistakes turn to show us what they got (spoiler: quite a lot!). They entered the staged all dressed in black tie with the front mans suit being the most notable hosting a beautiful floral pattern. However I think they soon regretted that choice as the heat led to them taking their jackets of only a song or two into the show – The things we do for fashion, eh?
You could tell that a lot of the people in the venue had made their way down that night to see these guys as they got a loud cheer before even playing the first note. Their stage presence was confident you could tell this was certainly not their first rodeo, however the band mentioned that it was technically their first gig together despite having an abundance of music already released – you could clearly see that they have prepared and rehearsed well for this moment which made it even more enticing.
The band hosted a very classic emo sound which is always very endearing as well as some really impressive and clear vocals with a wide range, the harmonies added an extra layer of beauty to the songs that took their work to the next level – there where many a crowd member singing along throughout the show and one thing that stood out to me the most was the deep and witty lyrics throughout. My personal favrouite song that they played was “locked doors, empty home.”
I would recommend seeing this bunch, its definitely one of the best performances I’ve seen this year, in the mean time they have a new single out called “your wedding//my funeral” which has been promptly added to my Spotify playlists.
Moving on to our final support act who I’ve head much about, but hadn’t had the pleasure of seeing yet was the wonderful Met After Dark.
The band took stage in what looked to be a four piece ensemble and let out a heavy bassline and some rockin’ guitars that would catch the hearts of the average pop punk viewer, already hosting some insane guitar solos – so far you could tell they’ve worked hard to earn the main support slot as the crowd where already going absolutely mental. After the first song what appeared to be a four piece was in fact a five piece! The lead singer emerged from the crowd as part of a bit shouting “can I please play a song with you” this added a perfect layer of entertainment for the audience also showing us parts of their fun personality and what I thought was a high energy crowd before became tame as she came on and the crowd really got going as she jumped around commanding the audience, which is impressive to see from a band who have only been going for about a year. At points there where even moshers getting heavily into the show and singing along.
If I had to pick one stand out song from this act I’d personally have to say a new song of theirs called ‘saviour’. I think the best way to describe this band overall would be the essential ‘skater punk’ vibe as they rocked around in their classic vans and converse and if that’s your thing you should get down and see them as soon as you can.
Last but certainly not least, the main event ladies and gents – Human Renegade! I had high high hopes for this band as they warmly huddled together before eventually taking the stage, this alone says to me that they care deeply for each other and what they have created.
Their set began with a slow and alluring tune which already off the bat hosted some pretty powerful vocals that left the audience nothing short of captivated, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between what I was hearing and my chemical romance. I guess you could say it was very classically ’emo’. the song eventually came to a heavier break where the drummer really got his moment to shine.
The set may have only been one song in however the stage presence was absolutely insane, you can tell they’ve been around for a while as they didn’t shy away from interacting with each other on stage and just having fun with it – I think this is something that any audience can highly appreciate as it brings a level of connection to the room that you just wouldn’t get otherwise. You could especially notice this further in the set as both bassist and guitarist where smiling at each other jumping in unison.
Throughout the rest of the night there was a perfect mixture of heavy, soft loud and quiet. Just when you thought things where calming down they’d bring the energy right back up showcasing popular songs of there’s like ’emo’ which really got the crowd singing and dancing along. They hosted many an impressive scream, harmony and banging baseline throughout though I definitely have to commend them on their song ‘Buttercup’, I think it may have been my my personal favourite from all the bands. It was slow with effortlessly pretty melodies and even got the crowd flashing their torches – almost had a James Bond theme feel to it.
As this review comes to an end the last thing I have to say to any reader who got captured by the descriptives of any of these sets is buy the ticket!! I can promise you none of these bands will let you down.
Meanwhile – Keep calm, Stream ‘Insaniac’.