Gun / The Godfathers - MacArts, Galashiels 8th December 2023

Normally, at this time of year, my mate Andy and I go and see Gun. Andy has been a fan since he saw them in Carlton Studios in Edinburgh on the Gallus tour around 35 years ago. Unfortunately, Carlton Studios, like so many small, independent venues, is no longer around and the music scene is poorer for it. Small venues are closing at a huge rate of knots, that makes it all the more important to support the places where the next U2 or AC/DC will start in.

With that in mind, rather than heading west to see Gun in Glasgow as we usually do, we turned the compass to a southerly setting and headed to Galashiels for Friday’s gig in the town’s MacArts Venue.

They tell me Gala is reckoned to be the happiest town in Scotland. When we parked up, I could see why. There was a busy pub, a curry house that smelled fantastic and great music venue all within a stone’s throw of one another.

I’d never been to this venue before. It is a nice square room with space for around 300 people standing up. The bar sells sensibly priced beers and is easily accessible at the side of the stage. The only downside for me was, as it is a converted church, the ceilings are mega high which meant it was quite a cold room in December, even all packed out, as it was tonight.

So to the music, first up were The Godfathers. Peter Coyne, their grim-faced front man, has been leading his band since the 80’s albeit with a number of line-up changes, he is the only original left. The Godfathers had a bit of success early on and their music has, I think, stood the test of time. Following a big intro piece they appeared all clad in black and standing together at the front of the stage in a line so straight they would have sprung any offside trap coming towards them. This gave The Godfathers a presence that said we are in this together and ready to take on all comers! By way of softening things down Peter remarked, “it's okay we only bite on a Friday night…oh it is Friday”.

And bite they did. They delivered us 45 minutes of pulsing rock with a punk undertone that poked through most of their tracks. A personal favourite of mine was the song they dedicated to The Ramones, “I Can’t Sleep Tonight”. This was a cracker that could just as easily have been a Ramones song. Their set finished with The Godfathers 1988 belter “Birth, School, Work, Death”. I thought this was a great start to the night delivered by a very tight five piece. I’ll look forward to seeing The Godfathers again soon.

Turnaround time was tight and just after 9 the lights went down and Gun appeared. Some clutching water, some with a beer and the bass player, Andy Carr, with what looked like a cup of tea! Singer Dante turned up in his coat and never took it off all night, told you it was cold.

As soon as their drinks were set down, bang, we were off. “Lucky Guy,” from the forthcoming album Hombres kicked the set off and a cracker it was too. Then two from the Favourite Pleasures album, “She Knows” and “Here’s Where I am” push us on toward the first sook on those various drinks and a wee breath for the crowd.

By now it's clear to me this is going to be a cracker of a night. I’ve seen Gun in big venues, like Barrowland’s and on festival stages at Ramblin’ Man and Download but never in such a small room. Their style and sound suited this club sized audience perfectly. Sometimes, bands who have been playing for 30 plus years, as Gun have, can be guilty of phoning in their set. There was none of that tonight. Everything sounded fresh and, not surprisingly, the new material shone brightly within a set overflowing with quality.

Hombres is out in April 2024 and there may be a bit of a movie thing going on with it, though Dante was pretty tight lipped about what that might look like. I hope that works out for them, a film tie up can mean a great deal for bands particularly around international exposure and cash. Gun, in my view, deserve both; they have worked hard for decades.

The next single from Hombres is going to be “Take Me Back Home” and, like current release, “All Fired Up”, it is a great back to basics, no nonsense rock song that that had the joint jumping.

The favourites were there too, 1994’s “Don’t Say it's Over” got the community singing going. Andy smiled appreciatively as the three from Gallus, including “Steal Your Fire” got an outing. Five of the 17 song set came from 1989’s Taking on the World album. “Money” and my personal favourite, “Better Days” were stick outs and “Inside Out” always just makes me smile.

The title track of the album is always a crowd favourite, tonight it was an acoustic version; with Archie Gemmill scoring the best Scotland goal ever, running on the backdrop. Taking on the world indeed.

Tonight was a night of great music and fun. For the band it might have been an expensive one though. The guitar tech will be working overtime to sort out all of Jool’s broken strings. As guitarists often tell me, broken stings are a sign of passion. There was plenty of that tonight. Gun have been around the block a few times and the membership of the band has been a broad and interesting one. Tonight’s line up really hit the mark musically and breathed a whole lot of new life into old tunes.

Talking of which, the night ended with “Higher Ground” from Gallus and Taking on the World’s “Shame on You”. Both cracking cuts live and really great closers.

The lights came up and we headed back to the car. As we drove north through the driving rain Andy and I chatted about the Gun shows we’d been at over the years. We agreed, tonight was probably the best we had seen. It was fantastic to watch a band at the top of their game in a small venue. I’ll be back at the MacArts again and I hope Gun will too. When that happens I will happily make the journey south, with all that was going on tonight, it's no wonder Gala is such a happy place to be!