For the second time in a week Boy Child and I boarded the train to Glasgow in search of some live music. This time it was only a short walk from the station to the venue- Classic Grand.

When we arrived about 45 minutes before the doors were due to open there was already a queue forming. After a while some of the security staff came out to advise that there were two bands playing- one was an ACDC tribute band and the other was the one we were there to see- Wales’s finest Cardinal Black. When the security staff split the queue, no one joined the ACDC tribute band queue! By the time the doors opened there were three folk in that line, Maybe we should have press ganged them into joining the rest of us upstairs…

It’s a mighty climb up the stairs in this venue but slightly out of puff, we made it and while I went to the merch stall, Boy Child secured our spot centre front for the night. Happy days!

There was one support act- Liam Cromby and he stepped out on stage just before 7:30pm. Already there was a healthy crowd in the room to hear him play a solid opening set. Leaning towards the country/Americana vibe, Liam treated the audience to songs from his debut album, What Can I Trust If I Can’t Trust Love. The title track was one of the highlight moments of his all-too-short half-hour set. The lyrical content of several of the songs told a tale of darkness, some of Liam’s facial expressions suggested he was tortured but he promised us that he’s in a good place these days. So were we- we were in Classic Grand listening to him win the hearts of many new Scottish fans. Check this guy out, please.

I always like to watch the road crew swap the stage round in preparation for the headliners. Tonight, I saw a first – a crew member adding light bulbs to a table lamp and a standard lamp that looked to come straight out of your granny’s living room!

At 8:15pm the lights dimmed and the sell out crowd waited impatiently for the arrival of Cardinal Black on stage. The intro tape played. The Scottish fans cheered wildly as Cardinal Black stepped out on stage with Tom Hollister greeting us with a reminder “It’s Friday night, motherf**kers!” It sure was!

The boys opened their fourteen-song set with Ride Home. Initially the balance of their sound was a little bit off, and Tom’s vocals were drowned out, but this was swiftly addressed.

Ride Home (set opener)- Cardinal Black @ Classic Grand, Glasgow 25/10/24

This was the fourth time I’d seen Cardinal Black and the third time I’d seen them headline in Glasgow, but it was the first time I’d seen them with Tay, their female backing singer/percussionist.

Early in the set, Tom apologised for being loaded with the cold, blaming his young daughter for being generous with her germs, but he promised to soldier on.

There’s a magical chemistry at play on stage with this band, enhanced I suspect for the evening as they were having a few days off after this gig. Each of them seemed chatty and relaxed.

Cardinal Black have one full album, an EP and a recent streaming-only offering Welcome to the Valencia to draw on for their set.

During Jump In, guitarist extraordinaire Chris Buck commented that this was better than the previous venue they’d played in town. I have to agree- yes it was!

Jump In – Cardinal Black @ Classic Grand Glasgow 25/10/24

Something I’ve made clear many times in my reviews, I’m a music fan and not a musician but that said, I could watch Chris Buck make that guitar sing all night. There is simply so much talent flowing with ease from those fingers. Incredible musician.

We were treated to a new song, Morning Light, that’s set to be on the band’s second album. Beautiful song that bodes well for that release when it comes.

All evening there had been an acoustic guitar sitting behind bassist Sam Williams suggesting that someone other than Chris was going to play. Sure enough it was vocalist Tom Hollister who picked it up and played alongside the others during Adeline, a song he’d written for his little girl.

Probably the highlight of the evening for me was the gorgeous Warm Love. It’s always been one of my personal favourites. This evening’s rendition perhaps didn’t go quite as planned thanks to the ACDC tribute band playing on the floor below. A brief interlude for some impromptu Thunderstruck, a few jokes at the expense of Tom’s brother Gregg and an “honorary” can pop in his memory made for a few memorable moments before the band rounded out the main body of their set with Where Do You Go.

Warm Love & Where Do You Go – Cardinal Black @ClassicGrandGlasgow 25/10/24

After a brief moment off stage, Tom and Chris returned to open the two-song encore with Push/Pull, a song about not always seeing eye to eye before the rest of the band returned to the stage for the epic Tied Up In Blue.  Before they could start the final song od the night though there was an important job to be done. At the merch stall, there had been raffle tickets for sale to win the last signed copy of the first/only vinyl pressing of Live at The Memo. So, in true “social club” fashion, the raffle was drawn on stage. Well done to ticket #16.  Its fair to say that by this point Tom’s voice was clearly suffering but Tay and the crowd carried the night home.

Spellbinding show that was over way too fast. Hurry back, boys. Glasgow loves you!