Edinburgh may have been taking the headlines due to Primal Scream’s NYE gig the following night, but here, at Glasgow’s Barrowlands, this gig feels like a homecoming party. As one happy reveller puts it as we queue to get in (alongside Scream collaborator and kindred spirit, Irvine Welsh): “There is no better band, no better venue, and no better city. This is the best place to be on the planet tonight.” Ok, that might well have been alcohol fuelled hyperbole, but in a sense, he’s right. No wonder it sold out in minutes when hastily announced last month.

They were a band famous for their drug fuelled lifestyle as much as their music, but having grown up, grown old(er), and left the narcotics behind them, they’ve come out the other side revitalised, reinvigorated, and by the looks of things, reenergised.

Over 20 years since the release of their seminal album, ‘Screamamdelica’, the band take to the stage in triumphant fashion to the opening bars of classic single, ‘Movin’ On Up’, and despite having seen them play it many times over the years, it still sounds as fresh and exciting as the first time. From there, the atmosphere builds as they take us on a pumped up tour of other memorable tracks like ‘Slip Inside This House’, ‘Don’t Fight It, Feel It’ (which becomes an elongated blues jam that is a sign of things to come), as well as an airing of the tender ballad, ‘Damaged’.

‘Higher Than The Sun’, quite brilliantly, morphs into a free form jazz funk, before an epic version of ‘Come Together’ gives Bobby Gillespie another chance to lead his band, and the entire venue, into delirium, with that ubiquitous silver shirt providing a focal point for all eyes in the house.

But the funny thing is that ‘Screamadelica’ isn’t even their finest work. You need to look at the trajectory of ‘Vanishing Point’, ‘EXTRMNTR’ and ‘Evil Heat’ for that. Was it coincidence that this was around the time that Mani became part of The Scream Team? Who knows, but when songs like the politically charged ‘Swastika Eyes’ get an airing in the latter part of the set, this band are a ferocious, dark and snarling beast, and one that rocks harder and heavier than most bands you are likely to have seen all year.

At one point, Bobby urges the crowd to say goodbye to Mani, who is about to sign off with The Scream and go on duty with The Stone Roses, and the entire place responds with a chorus of cheers. When the bassist walks up to the mic and dedicates the next song to Celtic manager Neil Lennon, half of those cheers turn to jeers in typically Glasgow fashion. But these imaginary divisions are blown away by sheer force of this performance, a performance that confirms Primal Scream as one of the finest live bands in the world right now.

Words by Mark Millar
Photo by Dave Taylor

For a photo gallery of the gig, click HERE.