For the first time in 2018, I boarded the 525 to Glasgow last Thursday, chaperoned by Boy Child. We were heading into the city to kick start our musical year at my favourite venue, the O2 ABC.

So, to whom did the honour fall of being my first live band of 2018?

Brian Fallon and the Howling Weather. (Technically, it was support act Dave Hause)

Dave Hause took to the stage at 7.30pm accompanied by his brother Tim Hause and opened his forty minute set with Shaky Jesus. There was nothing shaky about this performance. Dave followed this with C’mon Kid, one of my personal favourites. Both brothers showcased their versatility throughout the eight song set. While Dave primarily played his acoustic guitar, he treated the fans to a display of his keyboard skills during We Could Be Kings. Brother Tim demonstrated his prowess on mandolin and keyboards as well as on guitar and backing vocals.  Together the brothers from Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, delivered a solid support set, rounding things off with a cover of the Tom Petty song, I Won’t Back Down and With You. This energetic set closer had the capacity crowd ready to dance and ready to sing and more than ready to welcome Brian Fallon.

Brian Fallon and the Howling Weather ( yes, Ian Perkins is still there as Brian’s right hand man) stepped out on stage to deafening welcoming cheers. Before they’d even played a note Glasgow was showing its love for the boy from Asbury Park, NJ.

The eighteen song set opened with A Wonderful Life from Brian’s debut solo record Painkillers. It was swiftly followed by the even popular Rosemary then the awesome Forget Me Not from the latest album Sleepwalkers. A powerful opening trio that really got the party started.

There are no surprises at a Brian Fallon show. Time after time he plays a solid rock’n’roll show and does what it says on the tin. The set was a wise mix of Brian’s solo songs, a few from The Horrible Crowes, a couple of Molly and the Zombie songs, a U2 cover and one Gaslight Anthem classic. What varies every time are the stories and conversation.  A highlight of the show is watching and listening to Brian interact with the fans. This evening was no different and he seemed particularly relaxed and chatty between songs. Even Ian Perkins, usually silent on stage, spoke!

Highlight songs in the main set were Forget Me Not and Come Wander With Me from Sleepwalkers plus Smoke from Painkillers. Boy Child was delighted that the soulful Etta James made the set. I was slightly disappointed that none of the acoustic favourites made the cut- no Steve McQueen, no Honey Magnolia….. next time, Brian, please.

Glasgow was treated to a premiere performance of Watson from Sleepwalkers. Beautiful song live.

Brian had joked earlier in the evening about encores and basically about how they seem pointless. He said that he’d rather keep playing than walk off stage for a few minutes but if he does that then the fans feel cheated out of an encore. So, to keep everyone happy Brian promised to walk off and back on at an appropriate moment.

After Watson, that moment came and the whole band left the stage. A few seconds later, Brian returned alone and took a seat at the piano. A slight hush of expectation fell over the sell out crowd as they waited with bated breath to hear what was coming. The 59 Sound! What a performance! Stripped back and raw and simply stunning. Truly the highlight moment of the night.  Equally incredible was the crowd’s singing. Beautiful!

How to follow that! Well Brian followed it with a solo performance of See You On The Other Side. Another gorgeous song from Sleepwalkers.

A few moments later the band returned to the stage and were joined by Tim Hause on piano for the final number of the night- a cover of U2’s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For. By the time Brian reached the first chorus, Dave Hause had joined the party and the two vocalists traded verses and choruses through to the end of the song and the end of the show.

Sadly all good things have to come to an end.

An amazing show to start my musical year.

Hurry back, guys!