Oliver/Dawson Saxon & Victorius

The Glasgow Garage enjoys three stages within the venue and the smallest of these is the aptly named attic. Scaling the seemingly never ending staircase, the venue is an excellent size for an intimate gig.

Tonight, the venue welcomes Oliver Dawson Saxon - arguably the most accessible of the two bands enjoying Saxon DNA. Their local support for the night couldn’t be any more local. Glasgow metal merchants Victorius (spellcheck doesn’t like the spelling!) have been together for more than a decade and it’s clear they were pleased to share the stage with genuine legends.

A local support will always do well if they acknowledge the crowd and Victorius did just that. Calling out to various locations across Scotland and beyond, frontman Brandon raised smiles and didn’t take himself too seriously (between songs at least).

Their material has some clear nods to Iron Maiden with twin guitar melodies but the feel is a touch heavier and that heavy element is rammed down the audience’s throat with a cover of ‘Creeping Death’ later in the set. I did think their own material was strong enough to stand alone but the Metallica ingredient went down well.

Closing with a track from the new album, the Iron Maiden influence was as clear as a bell and the response from the crowd fuelled an energetic performance. I liked them and they are engaging. Go check them out if you can.

I’ve seen ODS a few times now and there’s a reason for that. Oliver’s guitar tone truly captures the Saxon trademark sound and the material draws from the golden era of the band. The Glasgow show enjoyed a healthy crowd, rammed together in front of the tight stage. On stepping on stage, the band seemed surprised by the response and exchanged glances showed they were going to have fun.

The band are mesmerising at times. Whether it is Dawson pedalling an open A in so many of the tracks, or Oliver inspecting Coulson’s solo work from the other side of the stage. Fronting a band with such a strong back catalogue is never easy but it’s a well known fact that one of the most entertaining vocalists on the road just now is Bri Shaughnessy. The ad-libs between tracks brought a smile to the most hardened metal head and his renditions of 500 miles (again) reminded of their outstanding performance at Winterstorm.

The stand out tracks for me were deeper cuts like ‘Frozen Rainbow’ but the classics still stood up well with little heard ‘Eagle Has Landed’ delivering a healthy slice of nostalgia. One thing is sure, you wouldn’t fit the Saxon eagle in the lighting rig (largely as you wouldn’t get it up the stairs).

The presence of a Saltire onstage signalled the band’s connection north of the border and Oliver could be heard reminding Shaughnessy that he first came to Glasgow 40 years ago. I did wonder whether he ever thought he would be on stage all those years later with his son on drums?

The night finished all so quickly as the curfew for the night saw the house lights switched on and security staff urging us to the stairs, presumably to allow a quick clear up before the venue transformed into a nightclub. There was still time for thankyous and some optimists shouting for one more song. That wasn’t to be but as we descended out into the spring air, we agreed they were till one of the best live bands around. Like a fine wine, 40 years has only improved the contents.