Slightly earlier than usual (Yes, it was the 16:42 train again) Boy Child and I headed off to Glasgow on Monday night.

The weather Gods were in a better humour so our walk out to the iconic Barrowlands was nice and dry – whew!

So, who were we off to see?

Long Beach’s finest sons, Rival Sons.

It had been four long years since we had last seen Rival Sons, so we were more than ready for this gig.

We joined a surprisingly short queue outside the venue around 6pm and were soon joined for the evening by Mr and Mrs McI. Happy days!

The rail Gods were smiling on us too as Boy Child secured a spot right in front of Scott Holiday for us.

There was only one support act for the evening and that was LA Edwards, also hailing from California. If that name’s ringing a bell, its because they supported The White Buffalo back in July. LA Edwards took to the stage at 7:45 and delivered a solid nine-song set. Since I last saw them in July, they seem to have added a little more oomph to their mellow Americana vibe. They certainly did a sound job of warming up the capacity crowd. Keyboard player Lenny is clearly gathering his own fan club. What’s not to love about his high kicking, animated approach to playing?  The most poignant moment of the set saw the three brothers come together to sing an acapella opening verse to Day I Die, a song dedicated to their mother.

All in all, easy listening and these boys did a good job.

Shortly after 9:00, the houselights dimmed.

A lone 12 string guitar sat perched on its stand in a swathe of green light before Rival Sons walked out on stage to a rapturous welcome from the passionate Scottish fans. They opened their two-hour set with Mirrors from their recent Darkfighter album. Oh, Jay was sounding sweet! And he was smiling!

Mirrors (show opener) – Rival Sons @ Barrowlands Glasgow 16/10/23 – YouTube

Sweet Life from the band’s second album of 2023, Lightbringer, followed. This is an awesome song.

Then it was back a few years as Pressure And Time completed the opening trio of songs. Just WOW!

Something that was clear from the start was that Rival Sons were having so much fun on stage. Each of them looked happy to be back out in front of their Scottish fans, especially the barefooted Jay Buchanan. I love it when the band are relaxed and having as much fun as the crowd. We feed off each other’s energy levels. Guitarist Scott Holiday cut a dashing figure in his wide brimmed hat and shades, complete with his signature moustache. This was the fourth time I had seen these guys live but there was a different energy to them this time. As Jay eluded to later on in the evening, they’ve all become comfortable in their own skin on stage and that fact was shining as bright as the spotlights. Lovely to see Jay playing so much guitar too this time round.

With effectively two new records to be promoted on this Darkfighter tour there were several new songs balanced out amongst the fan favourites in the set. No mean feat with such a high calibre of songs to choose from.

Rapture from Darkfighter was the first single to be released from that album if memory serves me right. Live it sounded incredible.

Rapture – Rival Sons @ Barrowlands Glasgow 16/10/23 – YouTube

To keep the balance, the infectious Bird In The Hand from Lightbringer followed. Love this one!

I detected a slight huskiness to Jay’s voice as he spoke to the crowd between songs so in my heart, I knew we weren’t likely to hear the beautiful Jordan…maybe next time (HINT)

However, Glasgow was treated to a song that may grow to become just as special in time- Mosaic from Lightbringer. So many emotions wrapped up in this one. Absolutely adored it.

Rival Sons – Mosaic – The Barrowlands – Glasgow – 16/10/23 – YouTube

(credit to the owner Robbie Rooney via You Tube)

Mid-set, after Open Your Eyes, it was drummer Mike Miley’s turn to steal the spotlight. He also stole the crowd’s heart with his opening drumbeat that encouraged the familiar Glasgow chant of Here We, Here We, Here We F**king Go. Well played, sir! Miley delivered a blistering drum solo over the next few minutes.

Oh, how to follow that! Well, you follow it with Torture, a real fan favourite moment and definitely one of the highlights of the night!

The stunning Horse’s Breath from Darkfighter enchanted us next.

Horse’s Breath – Rival Sons @ Barrowlands Glasgow 16/10/23 – YouTube

Oh, this show was flying by way too fast!

The Scottish fans were in fine voice and not even the plethora of new songs was throwing them off. This capacity crowd were singing their hearts out to each and every song. (There were going to be a few hoarse fans come Tuesday morning – me included!)

The incredible Face of Light deep in the set was followed by a truly spellbinding solo from Scott Holiday. The Fuzz Lord reigns supreme!

Face of Light & guitar solo – Rival Sons @ Barrowlands Glasgow 16/10/23 – YouTube

Probably my favourite song of the night, for a myriad of reasons, came next- Shooting Stars. Absolutely love this one and so did everyone else in the room judging by the volume of the Glasgow Rock Choir.

All good things have to come to an end sadly. After eargasmic renditions of Nobody Wants To Die and Do Your Worst, there was just time before curfew for one last song. The mighty Electric Man had the honour of bringing the evening to a climax.

What a show!

Till next time, boys.