Blog Post
The Middlenight Men/Chris Catalyst/PowderKeg - Audio, Glasgow Saturday 25th May 2024
Reviewed by Jay Ryan - guest reviewer • Jun 02, 2024
There's a strange air in Glasgow tonight. The remnants of the days old firm game still wander the streets with groups of football colours meandering around creating an unsettling atmosphere. But that is not for me to care about. For I am here to fulfil the need for rock n roll... and that need is large.
As I enter Audio I can see the pink feather boas round the mic stands, which signals the stage set up for PowderKeg. It's great to have them back after some member changes and they rip through their set with the usual gusto. Filling their set with not only incredible songs and political messages but also balloons. Not many bands could pull this off but PowderKeg do it effortlessly. The perfect opening act for an evening of rock n roll fun.
Far too soon Powderkeg have finished their set. Next up... The Middlenight Men.
The Middlenight Men are one of those strange conundrums. Perfect songs, perfect stage presence. Just pure unadulterated joy... yet 'Issue 2' is to be their last album. We can only lament on what could have come next as the sheer pop punk rock exuberance of the band fill my soul with pure unadulterated joy. I needed this. The crowd needed this. Hell... the world needs The Middlenight Men to save it from the grey.
Rarely has a set been so perfect to fit the mood of an evening and it has lifted the souls of everyone who has entered. Together... the crowd experienced joy in an almost religious awakening but from the church of rock n roll where loud noises and catchy riffs fill our hymn book.
As if that wasn't enough we still have Chris Catalyst and his group. Eureka Machines were a phenomenal band, and to still be graced with the presence of Chris Catalyst is something we should be thankful for. His songs don't fit the usual patterns, with odd crescendos and harmonies that keep you interested throughout. Almost as if you've just attended a pop punk song writing masterclass. Even with no prior knowledge of his solo material I was singing along by the second chorus of every song.
Chris made a statement about being thankful to those who came out to enjoy live music... but it is us in the crowd who should be thankful. The whole night was the medicine I needed, and as I left the venue there was a warm fuzzy feeling where my cold dead heart struggles to beat. This was a phenomenal night of live music. You don't get to have many nights like this where all three bands are on form and leave you feeling that level of happiness. But here we are... leaving the venue, I didn't care about the strange air I sensed before the gig. I was on the kind of high you can only get from experiencing live music in a room filled with like minded people.
Tonight was special and our lives were all the better for having attended.