Its slightly crazy to imagine that just two weeks before the gig, there was a real possibility that it might not even happen.  A drummer down and a UK tour to do, the band dug their heels in, found a replacement and got him up to scratch in 4 days to play Download.  Ever the professionals, the tour was very much back on, much to the delight of those of us who had seen the band on their previous outing in January to King Tuts.  A Stone Gods crowd is a mixed bag and yet again that was proved in Glasgow, you only had to look at the front row to see how diverse a fan base there is.

Set opener “Burn the Witch” blows any cobwebs away and sets out to define how the set will go, loud, epic and riffing. A quick blast through “Gunfight” and “Makin’ it hard”, before mellowing out to the anthemic “Magdalene Street”, not your average tart with a heart, ghost story.  Single “Knight of the Living Dead” is a gem to hear live. “Don’t drink the water” is the sing along song of the night, with Richie encouraging everyone to follow Dan and Toby’s “OI!” as they romp through the tale of a boys week to Spain. Lighters are encouraged out, regardless of the smoking ban for “Lazy Bones”, possibly the only song written by the band to make girls cry (Toby’s words not mine!).  Much to the delight of any fan who has been around since before the birth of the band “Start of something” is the song that says, were here, this is what were gonna do, don’t like it?  Tough!

An encore of two Stone Gods live favourites sandwiched round a cover follows. “I’m with the band” is what the new t-shirts say and the crowd are definitely with the band all the way, you can’t watch this band and not be compelled to get drunk with all your mates and have a bloody good time! Metallica’s “Whiplash” is thrown in for good measure and in my opinion, they nailed it and made it their own and I’m not usually one for thrash metal. Set closer “Beero” is an ode to drinking rules in the UK, yet in itself is uplifting and you leave wanting more, happy in the knowledge that the best is yet to come.

Its still hard to believe that a mere five months after the first gig at King Tuts, this band have improved so much. Special mention has to go to the superb Robin Goodridge filling in on drums, pulling that kind of drumming off with so little time to learn it, is truly exemplary. A band so enthusiastic about being up there rubs off onto a crowd, and I’ll guess nobody left the venue dejected afterwards (unless like us, you got thrown out). Major kudos to Richie, Dan and Toby for their spectacular musicianship and genuine love for what they are doing. This band will go far, they just need the fans to make it happen, and they gained quite a few in Glasgow. 

BY KARYN CAMPBELL