I caught this South Wales rock band at the Maid of Stone Festival earlier this year and thought they were so good I immediately bought a ticket for this show. Their excellent new album got me even more excited to see them again.
Bob and I arrived in Glasgow just after 5 p.m., so street parking charges still applied. I was shocked to discover the Council wanted £1.60 per 15 minutes. Between us, we didn't have enough change to cover the entire time until 6 p.m., so we paid what we could, and I kept my fingers crossed about the last ten minutes.
The Sir John Moore was too busy to snag a table, so we ended up in The Crystal Palace for food. I spotted a few Scarlet Rebel t-shirts among the clientele. Alex and Alan joined us before we headed to the venue. Trish indicated she would meet us at The Cathouse, given she'd entirely forgotten about the gig, too busy cleaning her monoblock.
This gig had paper tickets. The frisk felt more like a fast-forward massage as (almost) every inch of me got felt up. Then, the security person started on my wallet, fingering every slot. He totally ignored the contents of my other hand, which held my keys and an earplug case, a container big enough to stash any drugs he may have been searching for.
I enjoyed the first support act, The Hot One Two. One of their two guitarists was off his head, pulling faces, sticking his tongue out, spinning around. The band gave an excellent performance with lots of energy during their short set. Well worth seeking out again.
The second support act, Morganway, did not appeal to me. The singer's voice seemed to know how to aggravate the nerves in my ears. It got so bad that I ended up wedging my ear protectors deep into my ear canals to block the sound. I needed to use a key to tease them back out again afterwards. That's never a good sign. I have to say it appeared that I was in the minority, as many punters enjoyed their set.
This little bugger - the smoke machine - was the bane of my night. It kept blasting out jets of throat-irritating nonsense whenever the air began to clear. Whoever thought this added atmosphere to the small room should be forced to sit in a car with a tube connected to the exhaust pipe. It spoiled my photos, too.
Scarlet Rebels didn't disappoint. Well, maybe a wee bit. They played a great set filled with their best tunes, but after a while, it became noticeable that the singer was struggling with his upper register. He'd pull away from the mike or sing lower where his voice was more comfortable. His expression showed how annoyed and disappointed he was, but he didn't make a fuss about it and kept going, giving it his best. He still belted out what he could to compensate.
As it was a Club night, the gig had to finish by 10 p.m., after which Bob and I headed home. Trish and the others went to the pub.
SetlistPearl and Dean theme, followed by Terence Trent D'arby's version of Would I Lie to You?
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