Here we are back at one of my favourite venues, the SWG3 in Glasgow, for the welcome return of those Aussie legends Rose Tattoo. First up we have a band I’ve been wanting to see for a long time, another Aussie band, The Poor.
They open with the heavy rocking “Tell Someone Who Cares” from 1994’s Who Cares before getting into “Trouble” and taking a “Ride” before we get a double whammy with their fabulous new singles “Payback’s a Bitch” and “Cry Out”. We get the tremendous rocking “Love Shot” from their 1992 EP before a final four-barrelled outing from Who Cares in the form of the laid back rocker “Man of War”, the upbeat bouncer “Poison” (a favourite of mine tonight with its Airbourne vibe), and the crunching, bass riff loaded “More Wine Waiter Please”. They end the salvo and the short but very enjoyable set with the absolutely manic Dave Lee Roth-era Van Halen styled “Only the Night”. The whole thing left me grinning from ear to ear.
The band went down a storm tonight and rightly so, well worth the wait to see them. if you like your Aussie rock then these are the boys for you.
The main event now with those rock n’ roll barroom brawlers Rose Tattoo who I last caught here in the same venue in 2018. There is no fuss, no big show entrance. The boys just stroll onto the stage, plug in and off we go with “Out of This Place” from Assault & Battery and we are rockin’. The heads are going, the feet are tapping, big grins on peoples faces as we get that trademark groove that no other Aussie band has, along with some cool slide work from Mick Arnold on guitar.
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We get “Scarred for Life” next which keeps the pumping vibe going, before “Rock N Roll is King” with its ultra-cool 50’s vibe. There is a real laid back atmosphere on the go tonight, not so much a full-on rock show but more of an at-home comfortable jam with your best mates. We have a double whammy from Blood Brothers next, the crunching thumper “Black Eyed Bruiser” followed by “Creeper” before we get all slippery and sweaty with the foot thumping classic that is “Juice On The Loose”.
We get to meet “Sidewalk Sally” and the bouncy “It’s Gonna Work Itself Out” before a triple hit from Blood Brothers: “Nothing to Lose”, “Once in a Lifetime” (which has a real swagger), and the fabulous punchy “Man About Town” with Mark Evans pounding away on bass and Angry on fine vocal form, a crowd favourite for sure. The boys let us know that “We Can’t Be Beaten” before heading into “Bad Boy for Love” with it’s real Tattoo sound that only Angry and the boys can pull off.
We head back to “1854” with it’s “all for one, one for all” hook-line sing along-chorus. The one and only “Rock ‘N’ Roll Outlaw” sweeps us along with its chugging rhythm that is unmistakably Rose Tattoo, before the boys end the set with some fabulous “Sweet Love” and leave the stage to well deserved cheering and clapping. They come back in style for the encore, the crowd going nuts as the opening chords herald “Nice Boys Don’t Play Rock n Roll” played in a way Axl can only dream about.
Tonight was a pure Aussie rock n’ roll delight with the faster paced The Poor up against the barroom swagger that is Angry Anderson & Rose Tattoo, a band with nothing to prove and a sound like no other from down under. As soon as their chords start up and that gravel-laden voice kicks in you know it’s going to be a great night of rock n’ roll and it surely was. I do hope they come back even though Angry hinted that they may not…
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Photos by Gary Cooper
