Last week the first gig of the year beckoned…

The traffic was kind to us as Boy Child drove up the M8 towards Glasgow. As usual we parked at the science centre then took a quick detour to the SEC to use the loo. As we headed towards our venue for the evening SWG3, we encountered some members of the Furries convention outside the Crowne Plaza Hotel (don’t ask! – feel free to Google that for yourself).

So, who were we braving the cold and the Furries to see?

Tremonti!

The rail gods weren’t kind to us and Boy Child could only get a spot three or four rows off the rail. I found myself in the midst of a group of 6’ plus giants and instantly began to regret my decision not to upgrade to the VIP Meet & Greet Experience. C’est la vie.

There was only one support act for the evening and that honour fell to Wales’s finest, Florence Black. The trio took to the stage at 7:30pm for their all too short seven song set. Time may have been tight, but the boys packed a punch with a powerful set which opened with Start Again. This was followed by Bed of Nails, one of my favourites, and The Deep End. This was the fourth time I’ve seen Florence Black, and these boys just keep getting better and better. This set flew in far too fast. Another of my favourites, Zulu, was the penultimate song of their set which was brought to a climax with the stunning Sun and Moon.

Short, sharp and a set that definitely warmed the crowd up ready for the headliners.

Hurry back, boys, thirty minutes wasn’t enough!

At 8:30pm, the lights dimmed…the Scottish fans cheered wildly as the four members of Tremonti took to the stage. Tremonti opened their seventeen-song set with the title track from their second album, Cauterize. You Waste Your Time from the band’s 2012 debut album All I Was, followed. The opening trio was rounded out with Tomorrow We Will Fail from the band’s current album The End Will Show Us How. The bar had been set high right from the off!

This was the fifth time that I’d seen Tremonti, and they never fail to impress. We were standing in front of guitarist Eric Friedman who has a talent to rival Mark Tremonti’s. Bassist Tanner Keegan was his inimitable skilful animate self as he bounded about the far side of the stage. At the back of the stage, drummer Ryan Bennett is a beast on the drums. As for front man, Mark Tremonti, it goes without saying how awesome he is on guitar but what has improved over the years is his voice. Despite nursing a cold, Mark was sounding fantastic!

With six albums to choose from, it must be a challenge pulling a set together. The guys chose well and treated the Scottish fans to a balanced set that spammed their thirteen-year history.

During Another Heart, another song from Cauterize, Mark was blighted by technical issues after breaking a string. It was however an impressive display of the band’s chemistry as Tanner Keegan delivered an impromptu bass solo and Eric Friedman kept things going until Mark had resolved the guitar issues. A tricky situation impressively handled.

I’ll not lie, being several rows back among the 6’ plus giants and trying to see the stage through gaps between heads and arms was detracting from my overall enjoyment slightly. I bare saw Tanner Keegan all night as he largely kept to his side of the stage, out of my line of sight. C’est la vie.

One of my personal favourites and a firm fan favourite was Flying Monkeys. Awesome hard and heavy song that Mark introduced as having been written back in the day when he was working through his own emotions. Been tempted to release those Flying Monkeys a few times myself! Love this song!

The atmospheric Duct, title track from the band’s third album, followed. Another fan favourite that the crowd were only too happy to help out with the vocal chores on.

The main body of the set was rounded out with My Last Mistake and Marching in Time, the title track from the band’s fifth album.

After a few brief moments off stage, Mark and the boys returned for a two-song encore. The first song was the ever popular A Dying Machine, title track from the fourth album (definitely a set heavy on title tracks), but the honour of bringing the night to a climax as always at a Tremonti show was Wish You Well. Awesomeness!

Till next time, guys. I wish you well.