Skindred - Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom Saturday 19th October 2024

There was huge demand for tickets when Skindred announced their return to UK shores for the Smile (Again) Tour, with a Saturday night show at Glasgow’s legendary Barrowland Ballroom (colloquially known as The Barras!) selling out particularly fast. A venue famous for its history and electric atmosphere and one of the best live rock and metal acts on the touring circuit; Skindred… at the Barras… on a Saturday night… in Glasgow. What’s not to like?!

The famous Barrowland neon sign lit up the city’s Gallowgate as the doors opened to the venue and pleasingly, there was a sizeable crowd under the ballroom’s prominent disco balls as the support acts took to the stage. Skindred have always been keen to help expose new and emerging talent to their audiences, so a host of bands were signed up as support on the Smile (Again) Tour, with Nottingham pop-punk band As December Falls and Scottish rockers North Atlas being given the honour in Glasgow.

North Atlas arrived onstage accompanied but what initially, and confusingly, looked like dancing trees of some kind. But it soon became clear that they were indeed pagan-style performance artists, creating images through dance that enhanced the live music. The alt rock quartet wasted no time showing the audience exactly why they are gaining such popularity with a dark, heavy and highly cinematic performance that musically sits somewhere between the metal Scottishness of early Biffy Clyro and the electronic industrial sound of Nine Inch Nails. It’s a unique sound, with singer Leon Hunter’s vocals a mix of Type O Negative’s Peter Steele and Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil. It was an assured performance of light and dark textures (if that makes sense!) with a definite kind of pagan/heathen mood that provided an almost menacing feel. North Atlas released their latest single ‘Dead Tree’ last week and will be headlining Glasgow’s Cathouse in early 2025. On this showing alone, I feel a few tickets will have been sold!

As December Falls is another band making waves on the live circuit with some well-received and often sold-out headline shows. They have a very different sound from both North Atlas and Skindred but at the same time, seemed to be a good fit for the Barrowland audience. With a sound that veered from the alt-pop-rock of bands such as Panic at the Disco to the heaviest of heavy metal riffing and a singer in Bethany Curtis who could compete with Within Temptation’s Sharon Den Adel, it was an impressive support slot full of heavy riffing, catchy pop-like choruses and hamstring-tearing high kicks (for those over 40, like me!). There’s a clear musical chemistry between the band members, none more so than between Curtis and lead guitarist Ande Hunter, who seemed almost telepathic on stage, anticipating one another’s every move. It was a slick, professional support slot of polished, modern, alternative rock and with Hunter promising “a bevvy” and a return to Glasgow sooner rather than later, I’d recommend keeping an eye on tour dates and catching them on a headline tour.

As the lights dimmed and AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’ spilled loudly from the PA, audience anticipation was off the scale within the sold-out hall. Skindred walked onstage to their usual entrance theme of ‘The Imperial March’ from Star Wars… but this time, with a tartan twist, as the main tune was overdubbed by a bagpipe sound and guitarist Mikey Demus pretended to play a stuffed, toy version of the Scottish national instrument. The heavy intro of ‘Set Fazers’ from latest album Smile sounded and the main man himself, vocalist Benji Webbe scurried onstage to start the evening’s proceedings with his unique throaty, ragga-rap voice, whilst ably displaying his pitch-perfect normal singing voice on the song’s bridge section. ‘World’s On Fire’ from 2014’s Kill the Power album and the heavy metal of ‘Doom Riff’ from 2011’s Union Black ensured that it was a pretty breathless start of head banging and horns in the air for the Glasgow audience.

‘Ratrace’ from the acclaimed, fan favourite album Roots Rock Riot and the catchy ‘That’s My Jam’, with Webbe conducting the crowd as if they were his own personal human orchestra with his trademark charm and off-the cuff, playfully brutal comments (calling the audience “wankers”, with much hilarity!) ensured that the Glaswegian faithful were in the palm of his hands. ‘Set It Off’ from 2004 debut Babylon, played the previous evening in Hull for the first time in many years, was a real treat for longtime fans and led nicely to a short break for some Dub Step mixes called Radio 01633. An attempt at ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis resulted in a humorous chorus of boos (Benji knew what he was doing!!) but the boos turned to cheers with a short, audience-led rendition of the Proclaimer’s ‘500 Miles’ before a raucous segment of Van Halen’s ‘Jump’. Skindred know what makes their fans tick and that’s the beauty of their stage show.

It's notall heavy riffs and throaty ragga and that was no more apparent than during a rousing rendition of ‘L.O.V.E. (Smile Please)’, a song that literally makes me smile every time I hear it. There was a real feeling of fun and love as hands waved side to side and the extravagant singer donned a striking pink hat. The heavier ‘This Appointed Love’ was followed by one of my personal favourite tracks from the Smile album, the doomier almost-ballad ‘If I Could’ that ably shows a different side to the band with a more commercial sounding vibe. Defiant fists were held high in the air for ‘Kill the Power’, with Webbe instructing the crowd to follow their dreams no matter what others say, spitting out the lyric “no retreating, no surrender” with real honesty and belief in his voice.

‘Life That’s Free’, written about the singer’s son’s heroin addiction and the hopelessness of the situation, was sung in a truly heartfelt manner and it’s clearly an important song to Webbe. The fact is that song’s that tackle real world problems also sit well with audiences, as many in the crowd will have suffered, or will know someone who has suffered through addiction. Songs like this are important and they often take on even greater meaning and have even more power in a live setting. The raucous ‘Nobody’ with the famous repeated “nobody gets out alive” lyric and horns held high in the air, rocking back and forward, made way for newer fan favourite ‘Gimme That Boom’, a song that literally caused a boom as the Barrowland’s famous sprung dancefloor literally shook and rattled as the crowd bounced. It was a great way to end the main set!

Skindred returned to the stage for an encore with a brilliant cover of Eddy Grant’s 1982 classic ‘Electric Avenue’, which turned into a karaoke moment between band and fans! Then, of course, there was ‘Warning’, the song that gave birth to the now famous Newport Helicopter! This was the moment the Barrowland crowd had been waiting for, with many having already removed their tops in anticipation before the song intro had finished! We were instructed to get down on the floor, ready to jump up when the song started and I have to confess that my 43-year-old arthritis ravaged body prevented me from getting down too low. Nevertheless, I rose up (like a rusty, broken spring or a geriatric Phoenix from the flames) as the rest of the crowd jumped to their feet, pogoing wildly to one of the greatest songs in Skindred’s arsenal of music. Tops, scarves, hats and anything else that could be spun in the air like a helicopter rotor blade were used, although I managed to refrain from removing my own top for fear of causing carnage and nightmares!! Instead, I used my beanie hat… but literally anything goes, so it was all good! It’s an experience that everyone should try at least once in their life! Exhilarating stuff indeed, even more so at a venue such as the Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom! “Thank you very much Glasgow. We fucking love you. Goodnight, God bless. We’re Skindred. Ta-ra” shouted Webbe. We know who you are, Benji… and we fucking love you guys too!

As Skindred left the stage of the Barrowland Ballroom, the disco balls glistened on the sweat-drenched hordes below as they made their way to the stairs and into the cold Glasgow night, singing along to Carly Simon’s classic ‘Nobody Does It Better’. There was a real buzz in the atmosphere, with the crowd knowing that they had very possibly witnessed one of the most powerful and energetic performances that the famous old venue had hosted in many a year. Over the decades, so many famous acts from all over the world have fed off the electrically charged energy of The Barras, with some truly iconic performances taking place there. Skindred can now be added to that list of legendary Barrowland performances. It was loud, it was raucous, it was breathless, it was hot, it was sweaty and it was flawlessly entertaining. One of the best live bands on the touring circuit, led by the current greatest frontman in music. Live music at its best! As Carly Simon said… “nobody does it better”… and after witnessing the Glasgow show, it’s hard to disagree.

The Smile (Again) Tour continues throughout October and November, with dates in Sunderland, Holmfirth, Liverpool, Leicester, Portsmouth, Bexhill On Sea, Oxford, Ipswich, Scarborough, Bridgewater and Gloucester.