Review & Photography by Ritchie Birnie for MPM
I saw God last night, standing outside a small venue in Glasgow with a T-shirt that read if you want to witness heaven in person step inside and he was not wrong.
Parker Barrow played their first headline show in Glasgow four days after the release of their incredible new album and they left me completely in awe. I have seen the future and it starts now.
Tonight was an evening of incredible female singers and opener Georgia Nevada was a brilliant starter to the main course.
This little pocket dynamite took to the stage with her stolen Gene Simmons boots and proceeded to win over this sold out crowd instantly. Her mix of Southern and Country sat perfectly with this crowd and as soon as we hear the sultry opening notes of “Pink Cadillac”everyone was paying attention.
With just two musicians on stage you could have thought there would be an emptiness to the sound but it was filled with those incredible vocals and with some very personal songs like “My Home Town” and “Dear Dad” you could not fail to pay attention.
To top off a stunning performance she finished with 4 Non Blonde’s “What’s Going On”, a song that you could not get away from in the 90s but has since faded away so it was great to see it back and it got the whole crowd singing along.
I missed Parker Barrow last year when they supported The Damn Truth but the buzz around that show has been massive and word of mouth definitely sold out this show. The smiles on the band’s faces told a story and singer Megan Kane really was grateful and her energy into this show told you everything you needed to know about what this meant to the band.
We kicked off with “Nothin’ Left To Save” from latest release Hold the Mash and with very little room to move on that small stage the band must have felt like we did squeezed into the venue with nowhere to go.
Instantly you felt something special was brewing and as the groove of “Blinded” kicked in we were all in for the long haul. This band is so tight, so on the same page you can see how they pulled off the jam sessions later in the evening that worked so well. Every member of this band is outstanding.
The heavenly Blues of “Novocaine” swept through the musical genius of “Good Times Gone Away” and the crazy jazz club looseness of “Throwin’ Stones”. This was the first of many times I just stood in complete awe, mouth agape at what I was witnessing.
We hit the Black Crowes esche “The Healer” and the lazy river that is the beautiful “Olivia Lane” before Megan took a well earned rest from strutting her stuff on “Ruby’s Reckoning”. This lull was not just there for her to take a rest, it was there to prepare us for the truly outstanding cover of Zeppelin’s “No Quarter” that was to follow.
This was truly special and the venue was totally hushed for the 15 minute jam bonanza that followed. I bow to the musicianship, I stood speechless and at that moment I knew I was witnessing one of the shows you only see a handful of times in your life.
After over four decades of gig going I can count on one hand the amount of bands who I have seen for the first time and been so blown away and Parker Barrow now have that accolade.
We are winding down now but we are not letting up. The jam session feel followed right through to the encore which was another cover, this time “My Morning Song” and what a way to finish.
This song was stretched out to over 10 minutes but there was no dead time, no lull just pure groove and ecstasy.
There is so much to be thankful for with this show, firstly to Megan for pronouncing Glasgow correctly (jeez Americans really struggle with that) but just being able to witness that greatness in such an intimate setting was humbling. It was an I was there moment and from here it is onwards and upwards.
They will never play a hall of this size again so if you have a chance get out there now and see them. This band are not to be missed.
