Scarlet Rebels/ Morganway/The Hot One Two - Cathouse, Glasgow 5th October 2024

I survived the journey and made the 12 minute dash from station to venue just intime to get in for the tonight’s openers, The Hot One Two. I had never seen this Cambridgeshire five piece before, but it appears they have been making waves across the rock scene including the opening slot at this year’s Stonedead Festival. They only got about 20 minutes tonight and it was easy to see, in that short blast, why their star is on the rise. They do metal. Just good honest metal, and if you like metal The Hot One Two are just the sort of band you will like. If you’ve never heard them, sort that, and, if you get a chance to see them, go. Just don’t forget your horns and headbanging.

Next up were Morganway. They are a six piece, though only five were in Glasgow on Saturday and include a husband and wife at the front, on guitar and vocals respectively and, my goodness, she can sing! I really enjoyed their 20 minutes. Their stick out song, for me, was “Heading for a Hurricane”. As I say, no bass tonight but the keys did a great job in bringing the bottom end out and, I thought, they sounded sweet. It's not often you see a fiddler at a rock show, but I thought it worked. Their tee shirts said “too rock for country, too country for rock”. I think that’s probably just about right, but rather than being excluded from either of these markets, on Saturday’s performance, they are easily able to blast their way into both.

Morganway have a new album coming out in January, if it's as good as their live offering, and I hope it is…grab it. And I really do mean grab it. So many bands just now are cancelling gigs due to underselling tickets. There is so little money in music at the minute, new material only happens with some investment from the fans. So, if you are interested in any of the bands on stage at this gig, or any others, lay your hands on their CD, album or other merch.

As the lights came up I saw my old pal Chris in the crowd. He and I went to school together and share a birthday. He came along to the first gig I went to – The Corries! Don’t judge, it was a great night. Chris is, for me, always a great barometer in music selection, he like these two bands, so that said it all I thought.

A quick and very reasonably priced beer, at £4 a pint, later it was time for the main event. I have been a fan of the Scarlet Rebels since I first heard them and it's so good to see them gaining further traction. I last saw them on their last headline tour in Bannerman’s in July 2022. They were great that night, but audience numbers were limited. The Cathouse is a different kettle of fish. It is a bigger room, with many more people and a longer set. What’s not to like and it certainly shows these Welsh rockers have so much in the tank.

This tour is all about promoting the new album “Where Colours Meet” and so it is no surprise most of tonight’s set was drawn from that particular disc. The opening track from the album kicks things off; “Secret Drug” makes for a fine introduction and was followed by “How Much is Enough”. It's funny, sometimes new songs come along, and you think they have been around forever, “My House, My Rules” is one of those. This was pumping live. A couple from their best selling 2022 album “See Through Blue” are next “I’m Alive” and “Take You Home” are just two top songs.

The easy thing for a reviewer to do is simply go through the set list, that’s a hard call with this band. There was no filler to be found. Each song a banger and each banger containing a back arching Chris Jones guitar solo that just adds so much to Wayne Doyles vocal. And, of course Wayne can sing, he’s a Welshman! He cuts through the melody with clear voice and catching lyrics. Add to that the five string of Carl Oag and the absolutely pounding drums of Gary Doyle and you have a top rock band who have developed a skill in finding a catchy riff and gluing it to memorable words.

“Save Me” is a personal favourite which led us towards another from the new album “Grace”. No doubt, this’ll be a set staple for many years to come.

Wayne always makes clear the Rebels don’t take anything for granted and know nothing is guaranteed. Like a number of their peers, they always try to support other bands; as Wayne put it when acknowledging the first bands of the night “you know the drill, support them like you support us”. They are also keen to say thanks to the fans, particularly those who have supported from the very early days. There was a big thanks to Dave Richie, who was front and centre tonight. Perhaps the Rebels will be in a tent behind the highest bar in Scotland next year?

“These Days” was dedicated to Dave and the band headed to the end of the set. It was an early curfew; a club night was waiting. So, there was no heading off, just a wee hang around the stage for a bit of applause before banging into the remaining two songs of the night. The second of which, I am guessing put them over time, but it was worth it.

First up, from the new album, was “Declining” and then, well another from the new album albeit it is an old song. “Let Me In” has been a live favourite pretty much since The Scarlet Rebels began touring it, I’m glad to see it's now made it onto an album. It was a fantastic song to finish what was a really great night.

As I headed to catch the Vomit Comet from Queen Street to Edinburgh, I heard a few people humming ‘take me high, take me low oh oh oh…’ as they waited for their choo choo to arrive. I very much hope this album and this tour is the next part of the Scarlet Rebels own journey to the destination they deserve. Certainly, for the fans tonight, they can take us anywhere they want to go.