The Quireboys / Last Great Dreamers / Souls of Tide – Classic Grand, Glasgow (21st April 2017)

The Quireboys are one of those bands that regardless of how often they tour, people come out in their droves. Mainly because they’re a bloody good band and one of the best live acts you’ll have the pleasure of seeing. Even on a bad night, they’d still be better than most live bands.

Last Great Dreamers

With an early kick-off of six o’clock, Nordic six-piece Souls of Tide take to the stage half an hour later. Despite the small, lethargic crowd, they give it their all, the early start working against them. Undeterred, they batter through their set, the slowly growing crowd progressing from polite cheers to full-blown enthusiasm. Full of grooves, they’ve got a gritty hard rock sound and while they may not match The Quireboys sonically, they do in attitude.

Suited and booted like tonight’s headliners, Last Great Dreamers have the advantage of playing to a larger audience and from the reaction they got, there were clearly a few fans in the room. With a glam take on sleaze and punk, they’re an energetic bunch, excited to be playing Glasgow for the first time in their twenty seven years. Looking like they’d stepped out of the 1970s, there’s also a catchy pop element to the music alongside their chunky, swaggering riffs, dripping with attitude. Much like their predecessors, the sound may not match up but the attitude and commitment to deliver a great night certainly ties in with tonight’s headliners.

Piped on by Jimmy the piper (almost becoming a tradition for The Quireboys in Glasgow), the sextet make their presence known immediately with opener “Twisted Love”. Taken from the album of the same name, there’s a couple of tracks taken from last year’s album with “Breaking Rocks” and “Gracie B” (well, that was on St Cecilia and the Gypsy Soul but re-recorded for Twisted Love) but it’s largely the setlist you’d expect from them.

The Quireboys

Standards like “Misled”, “There She Goes Again”, “Tramps and Thieves” and “Roses and Rings” are played expertly alongside the newer staples like “This is Rock N Roll” and “Mona Lisa Smiled”. Not ones to deviate from their calling cards, it makes for a fun night and regardless of hearing them for the first or fiftieth time, they’re just as entertaining.

As I said when reviewing last year’s Paisley gig, the band are as tight as ever with its solid line-up, one which has been in place for a few years now and it benefits them as they just get tighter with every tour. Sure, for the most part, the majority of the band are playing songs before their involvement but play them as if they own them. With the two-pronged attack of Guy Griffin and Paul Guerin on guitars, they snake around each other, trading blows and hold back in favour of their counterpart.

Meanwhile, Dave McCluskey on drums and bassist Nick Mailing lock in, solid as ever, providing the rhythm for the night, subtle yet ever-present. While they may still be the newest addition, the hurdle of being the “new boys” is long past and it’s largely down to the static line up that makes The Quireboys better with age. Alongside them, Keith Weir delivers melodies on keyboards and it’s partly this which gives the band their unique identity. Otherwise they likely would have been shunted off to the side and labelled another rock band that came around at the wrong time.

The Quireboys

Spike’s voice is reliably on top form, if anything, it’s only getting better. As he jumps about the stage in his inimitable way, it’s a lesson for frontmen half his age while his contemporaries should envy that he managed to maintain it three decades on where many haven’t.

With the encore of “I Love This Dirty Town”, “White Trash Blues” and “Sex Party”, there’s a sense that the band were just getting warmed up and could have gone for another hour without fault. Had I not been lucky enough to catch the Paisley gig last year where they showcased a bigger chunk of the Twisted Love material; that would have been my only major gripe. However, it’s a tricky job for a band like The Quireboys when they have so much material they “have” to play.

Whilst the atmosphere may have been slightly flatter than last years O2 ABC gig or at The Bungalow, The Quireboys prove that time after time, they’ll come out and deliver one of the best live performances you’ll see all year. It’s why people show up time and time again to hear the same great songs as it’s a guaranteed great night out and you can bet that it won’t be long before they’re touring again and once more, the faithful fans will be there.

Photos by Bluethumb Photography

The Quireboys: official | facebook | twitter

Last Great Dreamers: facebook | twitter | reverbnation

Souls of Tide: official | facebook

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