The Treatment are a band that have led a very charmed life since their inception in 2008. They now have two albums under their belt and have supported some of the biggest names in rock including opening for Motley Crue and Kiss on their joint mega tour across the US. Back on tour in the UK once again the band have been joined by Buffalo Summer and Aussie rockers Massive to provide a great value for money bill.

Despite the fact that The Treatment have had fantastic support slots and coverage over the last few years the gig tonight is in the smaller hall of the ABC and the crowd, whilst healthy for a Tuesday night, isn’t anywhere near a sell- out. Perhaps the guys are suffering a bit from over exposure?

Due to an early start time I unfortunately missed the whole of Massive’s set which was a shame as by all accounts they put on a great show. The guys are over in support of their debut album ‘Full Throttle’ and with the wide smiles on the band’s faces as they chatted with the crowd it would look as though they are enjoying every minute. In fact vocalist, Brad Marr spent most of the evening wearing a large Saltire flag as a cloak! The band are playing at the Hard Rock Hell festival in November so I will be sure to catch them then.

I did make it along though in time to catch Buffalo Summer and I was glad I did. I caught the band earlier in the year as part of the ‘Lord Of The Riffs’ tour and was very impressed by what I saw that night and once again the guys were on top form. Playing tracks from their excellent self-titled debut album the band’s talent and enthusiasm shone through.

The band pitched their delivery well and engaged the crowd who were more than happy to bounce along to the band’s Southern rock. Frontman Andrew Hunt has a soulful voice which is perfectly suited to the music and bassist Darran King is an absolute powerhouse who drives the band on and rarely stands still for a minute. As the set ended with ‘Down To The River’ the crowd sent the band off with a well deserved cheer. I predict big things from this band in the near future.

The Treatment are a band that many have predicted big things of for some time and musically all the elements are there. Great hard rock with singalong choruses and melodies which get stuck in your head and as previously mentioned they have had many high profile support slots in which to take their music to the masses. It is a bit baffling then to find the guys still playing small halls around the country, the music industry really is a fickle business.

The last time I caught the band live was a couple of years ago in support to Steel Panther and they appear to have undergone a bit of an image change since then. The guys seem to have taken on a slicker look, shades, new hairstyles etc, and their stage antics would be more suited to an arena rather than a small hall in Glasgow in a Tuesday night. Perhaps touring with Gene Simmons has rubbed off a bit and they are following his mantra of ‘play every gig like you are playing to a packed stadium’. The man with the tongue does have a point, but performance wise tonight I felt the band were trying a bit too hard.

Musically though things were top notch. From the opening bars of ‘I Bleed Rock n Roll’ it was clear that the band were in good form. Solid, honest hard rock is what The Treatment excel at and with hints of AC/DC and Thin Lizzy throughout what’s not to like?

The set was made up of tracks from the band’s two albums, ‘This Might Hurt’ and ‘Running With The Dogs’, both of which are chock full of great heavy rock. The crowd sang along with gusto on the more familiar tracks like ‘The Doctor’ and the excellent ‘Drink, F*ck, Fight’ which featured a great bassline provided by Dhani Mansworth and Rick Newman. The title track of the latest album, ‘Running With The Dogs’, provided another opportunity for crowd participation as did ‘Get The Party On’ and the set closer ‘Shake The Mountain’.

All bands tonight provided great sets and helped to disprove another of Mr Simmons recent comments that ‘rock is dead’. Far from it, rock is very much alive and full of talent which is heartening to see. As to why the likes of The Treatment are still trailing around venues of this size remains a mystery. The arenas may be a bit off yet but when they get there, on this showing, they will be ready to connect with the punters in row ZZ.

Review and photos by David Wilson

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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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 1 December 2024.

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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)