Glasgow has two options this weekend. Go see the legend that is Alice Cooper in the dreadful Hydro and also be subjected to Creeper (thoughts and prayers if you saw them open for Alice) or go see two upcoming bands do their respective thing in one of Glasgow’s most infamous independent venues, the Cathouse, for the price of a couple of pints. This one was always going to be a no-brainer, with Anchor Lane being no strangers to our pages and having caught both them and their co-headliner, The Howling Tides, open for Ricky Warwick, it was guaranteed to be as great a show as Alice likely was.
Being a co-headline show, there’s always the awkwardness of who kicks the night off and who closes and given we’re in Anchor Lane’s home turf, it was only right The Howling Tides do the honours of going first. Whilst it’s their first time in Glasgow, they take it in their stride and their bluesy classic rock riffs get the crowd nicely warmed up with them bringing their own fans and clearly winning over the crowd. With the chunky riffs and slight Southern tones embedded within, they’re reminiscent of Black Stone Cherry’s early albums (ie when they were good).
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What had impressed me back in March is still present: they’re a ridiculously tight band and where they looked cramped in Bedford Esquires and lost on the giant stage of KK’s Steel Mill, the Cathouse’s stage is the perfect size for them. Over the course of the set, Rob Baynes (vocals/guitar) covers most of the stage as he stomps around whilst bassist Adam Brewell holds down the low end, locking in perfect sync with drummer Steven Herbert. Elsewhere, guitarist Hayden Kirk lets the music do the talking with his own licks. Indeed, there seems to be a fresh vigour to them, the one that comes from having being on tour and giving it all for one final night in a brand new town.
Highlight of the set “12/8” sounds more vicious than ever, stripping back the blues moments and going for straight out rock and roll, shining brightest in that moment. Elsewhere, they slot in a new song with “Angels and Fools”, taking the set into a darker, sleazier vibe and again, it plays well for them, slotting in with more established tracks effortlessly. However, when the band do get their blues on, they do it damn well. Kirk intros “Blue Moon” with a very Conspirators-era Slash feel without straying into pastiche or plagiarism and they revisit the muscular bluesy vibe on “Fortune”. And as the band go for broke on the final few songs, they remind me once more just how polished they are as a unit. Whilst they’re a band who definitely seem to have found their feet, if “Angels and Fools” is a hint of their future direction, I’d be keen to see them again.
It’s been a very long time since Anchor Lane headlined Glasgow and with it being their first opportunity to do so in their new power trio lineup as well as the end of this run of dates, from the first note of “Honey”, it’s obvious they’re giving everything they have on stage. As the band get the crowd comfortable with the afore-mentioned Casino number as well as “Dead Run”, they start peppering in new material they’ve worked on over various lockdowns and whilst they teased a couple of those numbers back in March, it’s clear we’ve heard nothing until now. Whilst those new tracks were great additions, they were holding back the truly impressive work for this tour.
The groove-laden gritty “Choke” brings the intensity of the set up several notches for the first time in their set, a feat they’ll repeat a handful of times following this. The band allow us to get comfortable with “Cruel World”, featuring the twin guitars of Conor Gaffney and Lawrence O’Brien with its soulful guitar work before “Call This a Reality” grabs us by the scruff of the neck. A filthy monster of a song, it truly shows the growth and progression the band have made from their debut album and where they want to be. There’s also the one-two punch later with personal favourite “The Mischievous Song” with its bouncy melody and catchy chorus which won’t fail to make you smile alongside the similarly bouncy “Stutter”.
Elsewhere, the dark-edged “Ministry” and “Nitroglycerin” receive warm welcomes from those who recognise them and between those and the other new songs given an outing tonight, it shows the quality of their songwriting that by the second chorus, people are already singing along with the band. The favourites from Casino don’t show their age and blend well with the new, edgier sound as the band shrug off the classic rock misnomer which has dogged them for the past few years.
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As a trio, the band are better than ever, exuding power and confidence, chemistry bursting from them that you only see in the best of bands, thusly turning them into household names. Couple this with Lawrence and Conor’s technical prowess on guitar, playing with as much feeling as they do skill, the Telecaster and Les Paul combination creating light and shade in the melodies. Meanwhile, drummer Graeme Newbury owns the Casino material as if it was his own, bolstering and improving what was already solid drum work but he truly shines in the new material, lovingly battering his kit whilst finding time to add backing vocals and also being visually entertaining. Add in his banter with Conor (much akin to Spike bantering with members of The Quireboys onstage) and it’s like he’s been there since day one. Moreso, with the full band upping their game in every aspect, it feels like this is the true incarnation of Anchor Lane that they’ve been building to all these years.
As “Fame Shame” indicates the end of the night, the band are truly spent, having given it their all, taking their bows to rapturous applause and staggering off-stage, it’s one for the books. Whilst the idea of this being a co-headline tour and show was never ignored with both bands giving kudos to one another, and it’s never a competition between bands, this was very much Anchor Lane’s night.
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