The weather miracle ended… it was pouring as Boy Child and I boarded the 6:24 to Glasgow last Wednesday night.

6:24? Why so late I hear you ask?

Well, the venue for the evening, Stereo, was a hop skip and a jump through the puddles from the station.

A new venue to us both, Stereo is to be found in the basement of Stereo Café Bar in Renfield Lane.

Who were we headed into the bowels of the earth to see?

The mighty Massive from Melbourne, Australia.

As we rounded the corner coming into the narrow, cobbled lane, we met Brad Marr, front man with the band, getting out of their van cum dressing room. Together the three of us headed inside. We lost Brad in the restaurant area as someone called him over to their table.

There were three bands on the bill for the evening and it was reassuring to see this small basement venue steadily filling up.

First on stage were Concrete Kingdoms from Dunfermline (according to their Facebook but from all over Scotland might be more appropriate). The small stage seemed more than a little cramped as this five piece delivered a blistering eight song opening support set. Loved the energy of vocalist Mark Hawthorne who reminded me on more than one occasion of David Draiman. Great engagement with the crowd. Would love to see these guys on a bigger stage with more room to really move around. At times the lack of space seemed to clip their wings. Check them out!

Next up were The King Lot and this trio had brought their own fanbase with them en masse. Again, this was a new band to me but boy did they make an impression! There was a fabulous chemistry on stage between bass/vocalist Jason sweeny and guitarist Jay Moir. (Jay’s eyebrows may have stolen the show! LOL) One highlight moment during their set was when Jason introduced a song (Sorry, the title escapes me) by advising the audience that it was time to “do the Macarena”. Two young ladies down at the front ably obliged! Kudos to the band who managed to play through their suppressed laughter. Great set!

One thing that truck me about both support acts was their willingness to talk to the crowd. Too many support acts at far bigger venues than Stereo steer clear of the whole talking to the audience.

I’m never sure if a Massive show is a rock concert or a rock party. Sadly, more than a handful of The King Lot fans bailed before the Aussie boys took to the stage but it was their loss.

Massive played a blinder!

No set list…. just good old RnFnR fun for ninety odd minutes.

More than a little tongue in cheek, Massive came on stage to the strains of “Down Under” by Men At Work. Who remembers that one from 1981? I’m pretty sure none of Massive were born when that was a hit!

Opening their high impact set with Generation Riot from their current album Rebuild Destroy, Massive started in explosive style.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyN0D59MjqA

I know I’m biased but I love these guys. Personally, I think they are highly under rated and, three albums in, deserve to be playing to much bigger rooms.

These boys give 100% every night to every aspect of the show…including the beers!

Their set was a balanced mix of songs from all albums (OK maybe less from the “poofy” second album as one of the band described it) but every song is awesome!

Massive soon had the room jumping and what Glasgow may have lacked in numbers they made up for in passion and enthusiasm for the band.

Highlights of the set were Dancefloor and One By One plus Roses, another anthem from the current record.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFPbVfUNLPo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2KFWi3pWI4

Both Brad Marr and guitarist Ben Laguda actively engaged with the fans…or they friends?…throughout the show. As on previous occasions, Ben’s Scottish family were in with one cousin making a couple of impromptu visits on stage. All good fun and added to the party vibe.

During a rare lull, Ben began to play and sing “You’re The Voice” by John Farnham. Both he and Brad seemed surprised when the Glasgow crowd sang along to the 1991 Australian classic hit. Boys, Glasgow loves its music and loves to sing!

Bassist Brenton Kewish seemed to be suffering slightly from “mechanical failure”. A bottle of superglue was omnipresent to deal with the situation. I was just relieved to note that he never stuck the injured digit to his bass strings! Heal fast, young man!

Highlight song as always for me was Ghost. From the very first time I heard that song I’ve been in love with it. Judging by the fans’ reaction, it’s everyone else’s favourite too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYt6Vl6DFGo

Brad, I’d love to hear an acoustic version of this someday… HINT for when you return next June.

The party… sorry, the set… ended with a riotous rendition of Long Time Coming. Awesome stuff!

Success and stardom have been a Long Time Coming for these guys but they deserve it.

Hurry back, boys!