Gut Reactions (post-gig memories and other trips): Collateral plus guests, Classic Grand, Glasgow. Saturday 6th September, 2025

Initially, this gig was due to take place in The Cathouse. Then, it got moved to the Classic Grand for the same date, but with a new door time of 5 pm to accommodate the addition of two more bands to the bill: Those Made Broken & Victory or Die. An unusual move, but it offers better value, although it scuttled my plan to take the car. Still, another chance to buy a discounted train ticket with my Scot 50 card. And I was able to join the others for dinner at the local Spoons (The Crystal Palace).

I'm not particularly fond of The Classic Grand as a music venue. The sound is generally awful, but it wasn't an expensive gig. Collateral were great when they supported GUN last year at the Barrowland.

The guy at the door was struggling to scan the ticket of the punter in front of us. I noted that at least a dozen guest list envelopes were sitting in a pile, rather more than usual. It made sense, though, given there were now four acts, each of which would have been given an allocation of freebie tickets. A clever way to boost attendance.

To my surprise, Juliet's Not Dead, the original support act, opened the show. They used to be called Twister, and I'd seen them perform at Maid of Stone last year. Bob reminded me of a peculiar quirk of the lead singer: how his tongue protrudes from his mouth when he sings. Once seen, never forgotten. This became a distraction from the music, now that it had been brought to my attention. Despite this, they gave a strong, confident performance, albeit with the guitar lacking in the sound mix.

Juliet's Not Dead

Next up was Victory or Die, named after a Motorhead song. A local band, whose music borders between rock and punk, they powered through their setlist, with a bit of banter in between. Again, the guitar sound was lost, overpowered by the bass, drums, and to an extent, the vocals. I got bored with them before the end. They did have some simple, catchy choruses.

Victory or Die

Next were Those Made Broken, another local band, who seemed keen to emulate the angst of Linkin Park and their ilk. The lead singer called for some energy from the crowd, but I was all out, still recuperating from the cold that had scuppered my attendance at Anchor Lane's gig the previous week. TMB might be a good band, but again, I couldn't tell because the sound in the hall was awful. I leaned against the back wall of the balcony, wishing I had a seat.

Collateral did something that turned the gig around for me. Not only was their performance joyous, they brought their own sound tech, so it sounded great too. The set wasn't long, over just as I was getting into them, but it was enough to stamp a big tick in the 'good' box.

The one unusual thing, though, was that about a third of the audience left at the start of their set. The downside to swelling the audience with fans of the other bands was that they would depart after seeing them perform, thus leaving the back of the hall empty. Still, those who remained were given a delightful set.

Bob had purchased the Juliet's Not Dead album, having borrowed back the cash he gave me for the ticket to pay for it, their card reader having been packed away before the end of the gig. I also carried it home for him, while he and his brother went to the pub for a jar or two. I was happy to go home early before the night train got too rowdy.