If I'd been prepared to travel, I'd have had quite a choice of rock gigs to attend tonight: Those Damn Crows in Cardiff, These Wicked Rivers in Derby, and King King at the QMU in Glasgow. There was really only one choice, though. It had to be GUN at the Barrowland, the band's spiritual home.
I managed to snag a position close to the stage. My view was excellent, and for once, there was no crush. I only had one shaven-headed gentleman between me and the barrier. Shortly afterwards, a young woman on her own stood beside me. She was brunette, with long, straight hair, her features similar to Aubrey Plaza. Quite a beauty. She had a persistent smile like she knew a secret that made her the happiest girl in the world. She bopped along to the rock music playing over the PA like she couldn't help it. It was in her soul. We never spoke, but we did share a dance (if you count us moving at the same time, both of us facing the same direction, not looking at one another except out of the corner of my eye). To my amazement, every time I glanced at her, she was still smiling. I usually possess a talent for stifling girls' smiles as soon as they see me, but hers persisted, even when she looked directly at me as I passed her across a cup of water from the security person. By then, she was even hotter than at the start.
Anyway, Collateral opened the show and played an excellent set. I'd never seen or heard them before, but I'd describe them as 80s-style melodic rock. The singer was tall with long, shoulder-length hair and liked acting out his lyrics, putting his whole body into the performance. The bassist wore a kilt and, later on, little else, playing topless. They performed like they deserved to be on that stage, which is always a good sign. One to keep an eye out for another time.
Technical problems delayed the start of Kira Mac's set, curtailing it. Kira's powerful voice was louder than even the guitars. However, they didn't play my favourite song of theirs, Scorned, and it was not on the setlist, which was disappointing. Maybe they will play it next year when they return to Glasgow.
GUN were immense. Getting our vocal cords warmed up with The Sensational Alex Harvey band's version of Delilah as an intro, they kicked off with Lucky Guy from the new album, its thumping bass rhythm and 70s vibe whipping up the crowd. The band's stage sound is stronger now, with Roo, Andy and Jools providing backing vocals. I felt a couple of songs were unusual choices, namely Vicious Heart and Pride, but the rest of the set was so good.
During the encore, the legend that is Donald C MacLeod (of the clan MacLeod) came on wearing a Santa hat to present the band with an award for Best Scottish Album of 2024.
I did make a bit of a fool of myself at the end. I got so excited that I started jumping during the last song, Shame on You. I haven't done proper jumping for years (because I'm old and fat with slightly dodgy ankles). Maybe I'd been mesmerised by the smiling girl's swaying moves or emboldened by the bouncy crowd around me. I managed to retain the sense to hold down my phone, which was poking out of my shirt chest pocket, but I neglected to consider my jacket, which I'd tucked around the buckle of my belt. After a couple of jumps, my jacket slipped onto the floor as I bounced in the air. Upon landing, I bent down to recover it but failed to address my centre of gravity, my lack of balance sending me head-first into the shaven-headed gentleman's thighs. I signalled my apologies as I corrected myself and didn't leave the floor again. My sweaty face hid my blushes.
After the gig, I hung around. All the bands mingled and hugged on stage as David Lee Roth's Just Like Paradise played over the PA. Collateral's lead singer spotted the smiling girl and pointed to her, smiling himself. I reckon she was his girlfriend, though I never did find out.
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Setlist
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| Santa moonlighting as a photographer |
GUN
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| Has a better video camera than me |
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| Me next to Smiling Girl |
