Over the years many bands have embarked on a pre-Christmas tour around the nation. Status Quo and Motorhead are two that spring to mind, and going further back in time, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band’s Xmas shows in the Glasgow Apollo have taken on legendary status.

Gun are the latest to join in on the festive frolics and their annual mid-December show at the Barrowloads has quickly established itself as a major ‘must do’ event on the Advent calendar. I, however, had other things happening the weekend of this year’s show, so decided to give it a miss. That was until I got an eleventh-hour call from a friend to say one of their party had fallen ill and did I want the spare ticket? Well, it would have been rude not to…

So, a quick run into Glasgow saw me entering the hallowed hall that is the Barrowland Ballroom just as the stage was being set for Kira Mac. I had, unfortunately, already missed an opening band, Collateral, which was a shame, but short of driving like Max Verstappen I was never going to make their set!

Kira Mac, though, did a good job of warming things up nicely. The set started slightly later than planned due to a few Gremlins in the system (well it is Christmas!) and Kira said things were a bit nervy on stage waiting for something to go bang. Luckily, we were only treated to banging tunes during the curtailed set. Kira has a big, ballsy soulful voice and she blasted out the vocals with aplomb.

Not having seen the band before I was slightly surprised at the heaviness of the tracks on offer. Of the 5 tracks aired the highlights were opener ‘One Way Ticket’ and ‘Climbing’ which rounded out the short, but very sweet, set. Kira announced at the end that they would be back in Glasgow early next year, and judging by the cheers as they left the stage, it could be a hot ticket.

However, the capacity crowd in the Barrowlands were there for one reason, to welcome back their local heroes, Gun. As the lights dimmed, we were treated to a festive blast of ‘Feliz Navidad’ which was then followed by the aforementioned SAHB with their live version of ‘Delilah’, complete with a mass singalong in the hall.

A huge cheer greeted the band as they took to the stage and kicked off with ‘Lucky Guy’ from their latest album ‘Hombre’. The crowd reaction at the end of the first song was such that I am surprised there is still a roof on the Barrowlands. Dante and Jools looked genuinely surprised and humbled by the crowd response as they took in the heartfelt cheers, in fact Dante looked gobsmacked all evening!

‘She Knows’ followed before old favourite ‘Don’t Say It’s Over’ had the Glasgow Choir in full voice, if you could have bottled the atmosphere at that moment it would have been worth a fortune. The set featured a number of tracks from the ‘Hombre’ album which has been a great success, reaching the top ten in the UK album charts and number one in the Scottish charts, a fact that would be celebrated later in the evening…

One of the highlights from the album was the band’s latest single ‘Falling’ which went down a storm. Another new track ‘Pride’ followed before we went back to the first album with ‘Money (Everybody Loves Her)’ much to the crowd’s delight. One more new song was aired, the aptly titled ‘Take Me Back Home’ which again had Dante thanking the crowd for their support and saying that the Barrowlands audience are the best in the world.

From there it was classic Gun tracks all the way and the crowd loved every minute. ‘Word Up’ featured the usual singalong on the chorus, and that was followed by my personal Gun favourite ‘Inside Out’, such a good song! ‘Steal Your Fire’ rounded out the main set and the band left the stage to rapturous applause.

Dante and Jools soon reappeared for an acoustic rendition of ‘The Only One’ which then segued into ‘Taking On The World’ with the Glasgow choir in full voice on backing vocals which again left Dante speechless.

The rest of the band soon re-emerged to blast through ‘Better Days’, before ‘Shame On You’ brought the curtain down on another fantastic night with a band that never fail to deliver, especially on home turf. Dante promised to return for more of the same next year, I already have it planned in on my calendar, a festive treat not to be missed!

Footnote -
At one point late in the set, the stage was invaded by local music business impresario Donald C Macleod, who was there to present the band with an award for sales of the ‘Hombre’ album. A timely recognition for one of Glasgow’s finest musical exports, and what better place to present it than in front of a sold out Barrowlands crowd?

Review and Photos by Dave Wilson

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Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.

Next session: Sunday 19 January

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 24 November 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 26 November 2024.

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More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)

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