[avatar =”Martin” size=”100″ align=”left” /]Inglorious is an up and coming UK rock band that you almost cannot fail to notice. There seems to be a massive amount of hype surrounding these guys with quotes describing them as “the future of British rock” and “a young Deep Purple” I felt, being a huge Ritchie Blackmore and Deep Purple fan myself, I should check them out. While the marketing seems to have done it’s job, this venue in Glasgow, is pretty much packed tonight, all this hype can be a bit of a double edge sword. While it’ll get people in the door, once they are there, the band then have to live up to it to avoid disappointment. Only tonight will tell.
The venue for tonight’s gig is the G2 on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow. I frequenting this place occasionally when it was the Venue nightclub many many years ago but I haven’t been here in a long time. It’s not a venue that seems to host many rock/metal bands. While it’s a decent sized room and it has a nice lighting rig I feel I have to comment on the bar. There was a fair bit of grumbling and moaning from the fans waiting there. It’s not great when all the draught beers are off and the only other choices are: expensive bottled beers, some of my least favourite canned beers, or canned cider. My guess is that they weren’t expecting quite so many people as they also seemed woefully understaffed.
First on the bill for this evening are local lads The King Lot.
Hailing from West Lothian this three piece rock combo play a set of light mainstream radio friendly rock reminding me at times of the likes of Bryan Adams, or perhaps Glasgow band Gun. There’s quite a decent turnout for these guys and they certainly have a few friends in the audience. While the band play their brand of rock well enough it isn’t really my cup of tea, and there are no guitar solos. Where are the guitar solos? Being a guitarist myself I would have liked to have seen some. It’s not really a genre I’m keen on but they went down well with the crowd here tonight.
Set list:
- Let’s Get Together
- Addicted
- As They Burn
- One Of These Days
- Until My Dying Day
- The Bang of a Drum
The King Lot: official | facebook
Next up is the Leicester based Ali Clinton band, another three piece, who start their set off with a with a very laid back bluesy number. The chap next to me comments “Am I getting old or are bands getting younger?”. They do indeed look very young but this isn’t reflected in their playing and musicianship which shows a maturity and sophistication that belies their years. Ali Clinton is quite the showman and the way he attacks the guitar, his stage moves, and mannerisms remind me very much of Kenny Wayne Shepherd.
Even when just bending a single note, or playing a simple bluesy pentatonic phrase, he puts a lot of feeling and ion into it. His solos sound great and if there was a competition for best lead guitar tone of the evening he’d win it hands down with his classic combination of sunburst Gibson Les Paul and Marshall amp. Will Ganner on bass also impresses with some nice bass lines and a slap style bass solo near the middle of the set. Musically the material is slightly schizophrenic in that first and last songs are very bluesy with a strong groove attached to them, while the middle of the set is more light rock, reminding me at times of Nickleback. My personal preference was for the strong groove blues based songs and for me those were the tracks I enjoyed more.
Ali Clinton: official | facebook
As the lights dim for the main event “Won’t get fooled again” by the Who introduces Inglorious before they launch into “Until I Die” the first track from their self-titled debut album. The first think I noticed was the bass and drum heavy mix. While standing the front the vocals were very quiet and guitars solos were almost completely lost. Part way through the set I moved nearer the middle of the venue and this remedied the situation and the sound was fine but I’d imagine, depending on where you were in the venue, your opinion of the sound quality may vary. With the album having only been out for just over a week it isn’t until the first cover of the evening, an unexpected surprise in the form of Rainbow’s “I Surrender”, that the crowd here really start singing along. It’s a great version of a classic track. “Saturday night in Glasgow…we’re all in trouble…this is High Flying Gypsy”.
Singer Nathan James is quite chatty throughout the set, his vocals are spot on tonight, and he is quite dramatic and expressive in his delivery as he waves and twirls his arms around. Drummer Phil Beaver, is that actually his real name or a time?, moshes away, his hair flailing around and his impressive beard making him look like a crazed Rasputin behind the kit. Bassist Colin Parkinson is perpetual motion personified and never stops grooving along with the music. Guitarist Will Taylor and Andreas Zäta Eriksson swing their arms around while playing and point at the ceiling occasionally as if the 80’s had never gone away. While watching a guitarist getting down on his knees to play is pure cheese it’s also great fun and the crowd laps it up. With only one album to draw from the band supplement their stage set with songs from Whitesnake, Rainbow, Toto, and Deep Purple.
So are the band “a young Deep Purple”? I think this would be doing both bands a disservice. Inglorious have their own sound and only have very brief similarities to Mr Gillan’s outfit. Are they “the future of British rock”? With only one album under their belts it would be premature to bestow such a label on them. Only time will tell.
If you’re a fan of the newly released debut album (we reviewed it here), or enjoy classic rock in general then check them out on their current tour around the UK.
Inglorious: official | facebook | twitter
Set list:
- Until I Die
- Breakaway
- I Surrender (Rainbow Cover)
- High Flying Gypsy
- Bleed For You
- Warning
- Inglorious
- Goodbye Girl (Toto Cover)
- Fool for your Loving (Whitesnake Cover)
- You’re Mine
- Holy Water
- Lay Down Stay Down (Deep Purple Cover)
- Girl Got a Gun
- Unaware (Encore)
