Slightly later than usual, Boy Child, Mr A and I boarded the 625 to Glasgow on Friday night. Again, the weather gods were smiling on us.

So where were we off to?

Our destination for the evening was Ivory Blacks, one of the city’s smaller venues, to see Australian rock band Massive.

According to our tickets, doors were 7pm but when we arrived at 7.15pm, we were told doors were 7.30pm. Fair enough…the street however was suspiciously quiet and lacking in music fans.

Just after 7.30pm as we went inside, the guy on the door said they were running late and that the support band were still to soundcheck.

Ok…this was a first.

As we sat near the bar listening to the first band of the night struggle with the sound alarm bells were ringing.

This review nearly ended right there.

Something (I’m not tech savvy -sorry) was sorely off. Issues with microphones. Issues with feedback. Issues with the balance of the sound. Issues with the band unable to hear themselves.

It wasn’t boding well.

The crowd also remained “rather sparce”.

Opening act of the evening were Concrete Kingdoms. I’d seen these guys support Massive back in August 2019 and was keen to hear them live again. Apart from the three of us and the two photographers, no one else moved towards the front. We had the whole rail to ourselves. After their first couple of songs, front man Mark Hawthorne encouraged the small audience to move forward, saying he needed to see their faces. Some folks shuffled a few tiny steps forward but remained pretty much out of sight. Sound issues plagued their half hour set but these guys gave their all in the circumstances. Highlights for me were Russian Roulette and Time To Play.

Hopefully I’ll get to hear these guys again soon.

Next up were She Burns Red, an Edinburgh based band making their Glasgow debut. The sound and set up issues continued as they struggled to get any sound out of front man, James McCulloch’s mic. Resigned to the fact that things were as good as they were going to get, She Burns Red launched into their set opener Crosshairs. At least the small crowd, now numbering around a hundred at my best guess, moved forward. Loved the energy (and the kilted look of James McCulloch). Guitarist Naz Scanferlanto was oozing mischief right in front of me. And it was great to see former Anchor Lane drummer Scott Hanlon again. Despite the sound issues. She Burns Red made an impressive Glasgow debut. Stand out songs for me were Rise And Fall and Killing Time.

Definitely a band to watch out for in the future.

Next up were headliners Massive… and this is where I feel really torn. I love this band. I’ve supported them since 2014 when they released their debut album Full Throttle. Ghost is one of my favourite songs. This was my fifth time seeing them play live but I am sorely tempted to adopt my Thumper Principle here.

Injury and visa issues meant that only two members of the regular band were there.

The sound issues continued and were clearly frustrating front man Brad Marr.

Lighting issues only added to the woes, leaving the small stage poorly lit.

Perhaps the music gods were trying to give them a not too subtle hint.

Part way through the set, I glanced behind me, expecting to see the crowd to have grown. No… there were huge gaps in the already sparce crowd.

By the end there were perhaps only half of the small audience left in the room, maybe fifty folk. A sad sigh to see.

To quote their own words back to them… “wake up and smell the roses.”

Sorry, guys, you need to up the game here.