Biffy Clyro Futique Special Acoustic Show, SWG3 Glasgow. Wednesday 22nd October 2025

I have a confession: I'm not a huge Biffy fan. I've never bought any of their albums or attended any of their shows. But I have listened to their music and enjoyed it, and they do have a reputation for being excellent live, so this special show tempted me. A chance to catch them in a smaller venue.

I experienced an odd situation on the drive in when I approached the entrance to the northbound Clyde Tunnel, and the traffic lights changed to red. Typical! Here I am early for the show and now delayed for what turned out to be twelve minutes. By the time I arrived at the venue, the road system around the place was in gridlock as the fans attending the earlier show were now leaving. I still managed to find a nearby parking spot without too much delay and made my way to join the long queue.  

Inside the venue, I decided to stand on the left-hand side of the room, next to a wall pillar. That way, I wouldn't be obscuring anyone's view if I raised my phone above head height. The crowd seemed a friendly lot, with the ratio of males to females strongly favouring the latter. I was amazed and angry that so many chancers, late on, dared to make their way through the crowd to get to the front. One family, led by the mother, pushed as far as four deep from the barrier, then stopped, unable to get any closer. They didn't care about the other audience members whose view they now blocked. All that mattered was that the daughter had a clear view. 

As the band took the stage, I was surprised to see five people, with a guitarist and a keyboard player joining the usual trio. I was unaware that this was their touring line-up. As they played, it almost felt like a religious experience, with the crowd acting as a choir, the soft female voices notably growing louder for the swear words. They were engaged with their heroes, their faces lit up with joy. It was contagious. 

Then, more people tried to push forward through the crowd, acting as if their strength of fandom entitled them to a better position. One girl in a shiny black leather jacket bustled past me without warning as I was videoing the third song, knocking my arm. That annoyed me. I take pride in my recordings and like to share the best ones on YouTube. I could see her get close to the front, but she didn't last long; she met resistance that forced her to retrace her steps. When she tried to halt in front of me, I may have 'encouraged' her to continue her journey, resulting in another lapse in my camera attention. If there had been sufficient space, it would have been fine, but I was already against the wall. I had nowhere to go, so she had to.   

That slightly marred my appreciation of the band. They played for just shy of an hour. Their performance was glorious. I was most appreciative of their talents, just not the character of some of their fans.  

Afterwards, I waited to see if anyone had been handed a setlist. I managed to get a photo of one, but it turned out to be two because the girl had accidentally stuck the ends together. It was nice of her to allow me to take the pictures, though.

On the way out, I noticed a small group of fans waiting to get a selfie with a bloke standing inside the sound booth area. I didn't recognise him initially, then later realised it had been Dougie Payne from Travis.

Setlist

Ticket Price: £22.50 from Assai Records.

Video

True Believer

Those Damn Crows "God Shaped Hole" UK Tour 2025, SWG3 Galvanizers, Glasgow. Tuesday 21st October, 2025

After last night's pop warblings, I needed a palate cleanser, and Those Damn Crows were on hand to provide such a feast.

I snagged a position in front of the sound desk, using the barrier to support my back. What a relief that was! Unfortunately, the space on either side was swiftly swallowed up before any of my pals arrived.

The first support act was James Bruner. I'd seen him support TDC in Edinburgh, and my opinion of him didn't change. He still looks like a wee boy playing with the big boys. They are talented musicians. He's the frontman who likes to show off his front by stripping to the waist. It's not a sight to swoon over. Hard pass!

Next up were Autumn Kings. From the off, I thought I could hear a Linkin Park influence, with the guitarist rapping opposite the singer. When they played an odd, heavy version of Livin' La Vida Loca, he admitted it might split the audience. It did. Their lead singer's voice wasn't strong enough to carry the melody. Their own songs were fine. The audience came alive during their cover of LP's Bleed It Out, cementing my previous suspicion over their influences. By the time they finished their set, I was into them. They need a stronger lead singer, though.

Up until then, I had enjoyed the luxury of a small space in front of me. Needless to say, as the place filled up before TDC took to the stage, that luxury was stolen away, this time by a petite, older lady with silver hair. Not a problem, I thought. She was so small, the top of her head only came up as high as my nipples, although her hair did keep brushing against my arms. I expected her bob to blow up like a dandelion head from all the static generated, but she must have been using a lot of product. I did feel slightly sad for her when Alex returned from his drinks run, leaving her literally in his shadow. Her appeals to those around her fell on deaf ears as he had been there first, and there was no space for her to shift over. Rather than leave, she decided to use her phone as an occasional periscope.

The Crows were in immense form tonight, if a bit ragged at times. Shane, the lead singer, fluffed the intro to Dreaming twice, much to the audience's amusement. I'd already accepted that videoing any songs was off the table, which allowed me to engage with the music. There's no better feeling than when a song inhabits your body, the bass and drumbeat taking control of your movement, making you feel alive and in the moment. It doesn't matter who is around you or what they are doing; the music has claimed you. Co-codamol helps too, to stop that movement turning into pain. My hip ain't what it used to be, hence the barrier relief.

I so wish TDC would book the Barrowland, rather than (almost) fill SWG3. I know it's a big step up in ticket sales, but their music deserves to be played in a greater venue. Maybe if they assembled a stronger support bill, they'd gain the confidence to proceed, but I suspect they fear the financial loss if the gamble didn't pay off. Shane complained tonight that the cost of running past the 22:30 curfew was two grand. I think everyone would have been happy to chip in an extra £2 if it meant they'd played on till midnight.

Come on, boys, book the Barrowland next time! 

Setlist:

Dancing With the Enemy

Man on Fire

No Surrender

Find a Way

Spit & Choke

Turn It Around

Glass Heart

Dreaming

The Night Train

Who Did It

I Am

Still

Blink of an Eye

Go Get It

Sin on Skin

This Time I'm Ready

See You Again

Ticket Price:  £22.50 (Face value) plus fees = £26.31 x 4 = £105.24 Plus Transaction Fee £1 = £106.24 from Gigantic

James Bruner

Autumn Kings

Those Damn Crows

Massive Wagons, "Earth To Grace" Tour, SWG3 Galvanizers, Glasgow. Wednesday 27th November, 2024

The doors' opening time was brought forward to 6.30 p.m. with no explanation given. It turned out a second support act had been added in the form of Cam Cole. He's a one-man band (although tonight he had an assistant on drums/percussion) who plays a down-and-dirty style of blues, drumbeat heavy with lots of distortion on his guitar and vocals. The crowd is fairly thin at this point, but they give him warm applause. 

Setlist
New Age Blues
Mama
I Just Don't Seek to Please
Truth Be Told
Freedom
Heavy
Fuck You Motherfucker

Florence Black was up next, and they effortlessly switched gears from hard to melodic rock. The Welsh three-piece created a helluva sound. Their set was great and demonstrated a great showcase of their talents. Solid!

Setlist
Start Again
The Deep End
Solid 9
Look Up
Warning Sign
Bed of Nails
Bird on a Chain
Rockin' Ring
Zulu
Sun & Moon

Sun and Moon

The room is excited for Massive Wagons. I can't help but notice the surprisingly large number of tall people ahead of me and decide this gig isn't one to shoot lots of videos. Just as well because lead singer Baz is struggling with a chest infection and, mid-set, pauses the show to explain and apologise for his vocals. To be fair to him, he gives a performance that other singers would still be jealous of, his voice belting out the lyrics as best he can. The energy he puts in, even while ill, is outstanding.  

The band cut the setlist short, dropping one song from the encore, which the tech crew didn't expect. Cue guitar swaps for 'Ratio'. More apologies from Baz, whom, you can tell, just wants it finished.

Get well soon, Baz, if you haven't done yourself in with that energetic performance. Don't feel bad about your vocals. You still rocked. If you do still feel down about it, remember to chat with the guys from Andy's Man Club, the suicide prevention charity you brought on tour with you. There is always someone there to listen.

Setlist
Missing on TV
Tokyo
A.S.S.H.O.L.E.
Under No Illusion
Sleep Forever
Fuck the Haters
Please Stay Calm
Fun While It Lasted
Night Skies
Generation Prime ((Outro - No Woman No Cry))
The Good Die Young
Bangin in Your Stereo
In It Together

Encore:
Ratio
House of Noise

YMCA Outro

Missing on TV

Andy's Man Club

Ticket Price: 2 Full Price Ticket £22.00 x2 £44.00
Per Item Fees £2.95 (Service Charge) x2 & £1.00 (Facility Charge) x2 £7.90
Order Processing Fees - Handling Fee £2.75
Total £54.65

 

Those Damned Crows, "The Takedown Tour". SWG3 Galvanisers, Glasgow. Wednesday 11th October 2023

 

It's not often I go to see a band twice in one year but Those Damn Crows are special live so I wasn't going to miss them. Last time, it was at The Garage in Glasgow and I felt at the time that the venue was too small for them, not just because the audience was packed in so tightly. Their sound and presence seemed bigger than the stage they were performing on. I still felt the same tonight at SWG3 Galvanizers. Although not sold out, with around 800 eager punters in the hall from a capacity of 1250, the stage still seemed too small for them, although the band did make good use of the tiered stage. The night started outside the venue on a chill but dry evening watching the queue dwindle to nothing as we waited for two of our group. They'd decided to come into town early for a bevvy and had lost track of time not realising how far it was to walk to SWG3 from Charing Cross. Meanwhile, not far from us, a helicopter beamed its spotlights down on the Kelvin River, assisting the firemen and other emergency services searching the water for a missing person. Eventually, the pair arrived at 7.40 p.m. (doors opened at 7 p.m.) and we all headed in. The hall in front of the sound desk looked rammed. The others headed to the bar and I waited inside, thinking the night was a bust standing so far from the stage. But the thing is, those uninhibited by alcohol don't mind being a bit pushy, so when they returned with their pints and snaked forward through the crowd, I followed and we found a great view right in the middle. Support act The Cruel Knives were unwatchable. Not because they were unsightly. The problem was with their lighting. It seemed synced to their drumkit so, with every beat, multiple lights blasted the crowd, to the point I had to keep my head down and my eyes shut or else a migraine would have been induced. The music was okay but their guitarist was a bit up himself and the lead singer was too enthusiastic with his sweary crowd encouragement. That's not how you earn a Glasgow audience's respect, mate.  Those Damn Crows played for about an hour and a half and were fantastic. The set was fairly standard with no surprises. I could have done without the drum and bass solo, but the songs were sung well and the music was great. I desperately want to see them in a bigger venue like the Barrowlands so, hopefully, their audience will continue to grow on the back of these live performances.  At the end of the gig, something happened that I've never experienced before. For years, bands have been throwing plectrums and drumsticks into the crowd and I've never been close to being on the receiving end of one. Well, not tonight. I watched as that drumstick arced its way through the air towards me. Bob reached up to snatch it from me but only succeeded in knocking it against Alan's head. I was the first to find it at our feet, holding it aloft like Excalibur, half expecting someone else to grab it from me. But no one did so I kept it. An early birthday present from a delightful band. Thank you very much, Those Damn Crows. Setlist: The Cruel Knives The Life That We Made Overdose Hollow People Black Eye Friday If This Is The End (I've Been a Fool From The Start) All Your Heros Hate You Shotgun to the Head Crawl Those Damn Crows Who Did It Man on Fire Send the Reaper Takedown Find a Way I Am Wake Up (Sleepwalker) Lay It All on Me Drum and Bass solo Waiting For Me Blink of an Eye Go Get It Rock N Roll Ain't Dead Sin on Skin This Time I'm Ready See You Again