Review & Photography by Ritchie Birnie for MPM
Tonight is a very memorable show, to be fair all Tyketto shows are but this one specifically as Glasgow has the honour and privilege to share a show on the 35th Anniversary of their debut Don’t Come easy and the Glasgow choir did not disappoint when it came to showing their thanks.
Before we get to the main celebrations there is the no small matter of support in Warrior Soul. There were a few heads turned when the tour was announced as these bands are so different but they kicked off a memory train for me that is truly based in the 90s.
I love both of these bands and they were a constant for me in the 90s, so much so I dug out my old tickets and the first time I saw Warrior Soul was in this very venue (although much changed) in March 1995. I actually met Kory in the pub across the road ( Nice’n’Sleazys, which is also still there). To be fair you could not miss him as he strode through the doors of a very rough pub in a silver suit.
Right next to that ticket is a signed paper menu from the pub that states stop control, Kory. As if I was not already blown away with first five albums this made me fall in love with the band even more. ( for information purposes I can confirm soup was 75p, filled rolls 50p, burgers and baked tatties £1.20).
Like Tyketto I have seen this band many times and in many different venues. I am not sure the majority of the Tyketto crowd would have been aware of the Space Cowboy, some looked perplexed. Kory may not have the pristine vocals of Danny but this guy is a fucking Rock Star. He is your Lemmy, your Ozzy and your Sid Vicious all rolled into one.
As they are supporting the set is much shorter than I would have liked but we got a solid 45 minutes which started as always with “Interzone” before busting into “Cargos of Doom” from Chill Pill and we get that brilliant, fuzzy Warrior Soul sound straight to your veins.
As Always Kory looks like the coolest mother fucker on the planet and the bass intro for “Love Destruction” comes forth as Kory’s raspy vocals spit at you like venom. Some of the Tyketto crowd may be overawed but man I am in my element.
It is onto the Space age Cowboys for “The Drug” and you can view the room and spot the Warrior Soul fans going crazy. I have a question for you, how many towns have a song written about that the songwriter was not from there? Not many I suspect but with “She’s Glaswegian” we have a winner. A song that was on 2019’s Destroy the War Machine but debuted in this city( The Barfly if I remember correctly) in 2008 but Kory sure knows our women.
With not many songs left we get to the business end of a baseball bat kicking with “The Fourth Reich” and boy do the band go for it. Kory is strutting, drinking a pint and with both hands full with pint and Mic occasionally singing into the pint which was brilliant.
Next up is my all time favourite Warrior Soul song and in my top 10 of tracks of all time since its release. This is the song where I felt heard, this is where every single person who loves this music comes together. “Losres” is the song that encapsulates my life for well over four decades.
We finish on “Punk and Belligerent” and ” The Wasteland” and we have seen a stunning performance. We are very lucky to see into Kory’s world but I am not sure I could live there but I will always visit. We also have to face facts, Kory realised Donald Trump was an asshole way back in 1990.
Now to the main course and the next part of my lets revisit the 90s. My first time seeing Tyketto was supporting White Lion at the Barras in 1991 and just like tonight they blew me away. Flicking through my tickets I also note that I saw Tyketto in the same venue, same year and same month as my first time seeing Warrior Soul…boy do we go back and one thing that has been constant through all these shows is Danny’s voice is perfection. On another 90s link bass player Chris Childs has shared the stage with two of the most incredible singers of our time, the other another Danny from Thunder.
If you are going to celebrate that debut go for it from the off and get that crowd singing with “Rescue Me”, “Wings” and “Burning Down Inside” and if the band walked off stage and packed up right here I would still be happy. I am in heaven.
Now seems like a good time to introduce a new number in “Higher than High” from new album “Closer to the Sun” and if you have not heard that album go purchase it now as it is brilliant.
Next we get a mix of new and old in “Strength in Numbers” and “Reach” and everything is pitch perfect. No autotune, no A.I. just incredible musicians across the board. I do have to mention a youngster since this has all been old fart time so far but Mr Elliot take a bow. I saw this kid a good few years ago now with the band Kane’d and I knew he was destined for greatness and he is a perfect fit for Tyketto. He carries those old tracks with ease, never misses a note and he has filled the band with a new found energy.
The whole band really do look as if they are having a ball and you can tell they are a family now. Daddy Danny never stops smiling throughout the night and his happy nature is just the man behind the mic. The guy is a legend on and off the stage.
For the next part of the show we focus on the recent history of the band, we flit from album to album with the highlight being “Circle the Wagons” with the singalong.
We get a Pulp Fiction moment (You will see if you attend a show) before we slip into “Seasons” and the crowd sing their drunken little asses off and that breakdown still gets the hairs on the back of my neck standing to attention.
After the Roxette cover from the new album we get super serious about getting your endorphins to ecstasy levels as we roll into the finale with “Standing Alone”, “Lay Your Body Down” and “The Brave” before doing that Rock’n’Roll we are done, thank you, see you again nonsense.
I am sitting there wondering what a bands reaction would be if every member of the crowd ran out the door before the encore but the band know it, we know it so the band decided to come back onstage ( we are in shock). Not only did we know they were coming back but Danny says you even know what song comes next and we break into “Forever Young” and this is what broke my voice. How many times have I screamed this song at the top of my lungs now?
Tyketto may not be the new kids on the block but they are extremely relevant. For me and a lot of people here they are my youth, they have seen me through good and bad, many relationships and for tonight we are back together again and there is nowhere I would rather be.
That last song encompasses every Tyketto show. I may be bald, I may ache but I have music and I have Tyketto to wipe away decades of life like the flick of a wizards wand and I am young again…thank you.
