Spear of Destiny - Ivory Blacks 27/11/10 (Glasgow)

Glasgow is busy tonight. Madness, Biffy Clyro, nomeansno, Saw Doctors and Frankie Boyle are all filling the larger and more well known venues, while every pub and club also appears to have something to offer.
For me there is only one attraction though, and that's Kirk Brandons Spear of Destiny who have slipped in a late show in Ivory Blacks to promote the new album and give us a run through of some classic tracks.
Unfortunately while Glasgow is busy Ivory Blacks is not.
Similar to the last Spear of Destiny show in the ABC2 attendance is rather uninspiring and it is something that is starting to piss me off because I know why it is happening.
It's all down to lack of local promotion. That's it in a nutshell.
Instead of putting some posters up and distributing flyers there seems to be a reliance on word of mouth amongst fans to pass on that the band are playing, and to be frank the SOD grapevine isn't working.
My fear is that if this lack of promotional work continues then an artist fronting a band that I admire, and enjoy watching play live, will think that there is little point in returning.
How crap will that be?
So before I move onto the actual review I'm going to paraphrase Kennedy and ask Kirk Brandon fans to think not what Kirk can do for them and instead what they can do for Kirk.
The next time he, or his band are up north, I want to see facebook, twitter and myspace ablaze with the news.
Don't be content with picking a ticket up for yourself, but instead ask some mates along for a night out.
Remind people how good Spear of Destiny are by posting up youtube videos online with a link to the date they are playing.
Just get involved because anyone who was at the Ivory Blacks show knows that he, and the band, deserve to be playing in front of larger and more enthusiastic crowds.
Right. Rant over and onto the gig.

New album “Omega Point” is being touted as a real return to form, but I would take issue with that as a return to form hints that a band had lost their mojo and that's not an accusation that could be levelled at Kirk Brandon and his Spear of Destiny.
Proof of this is prevalent throughout any live show that anyone is lucky to attend.
New and old material sit shoulder to shoulder in solidarity showing that they are a band who have never lost their form.
As the opening chords, keyboard flourishes and pounding drums confidently charge out of the starting gate Kirks voice soars and takes charge.
This is why over the years I keep coming back to see Kirk Brandon.
He doesn't do lacklustre gigs. He puts vein popping effort into every single show.
The man can raise the hair on the back of your neck with his powerhouse vocals and the current line up of SOD are the tightest band that I have ever seen playing with him. I was impressed last time they played, but even more so this time.
It's down to the balance.
While I stand there stage front I don't get a nudge towards the past, but instead find myself watching a band who don't do nostalgia, but instead weave old and new together and create a moment that is immersed in the present.
It's simply fantastic.
If I was offered the chance to see anyone else who was playing in Glasgow this night I would have politely told them no thanks.
By the time they are midway through Kalashnikov I'm blown away.
If I had my way then this gig would have been in the Barrowlands in front of a sold out crowd, but as it's not my call I guess I will just have to live with Kirk playing more intimate shows.
Last song of the set Young Men was a sublime effort in maintaining control on the edge of losing it, while for the encore they ran through a rousing Liberator that had a few bodies who should know better thrashing about a bit.
It was the perfecting ending to pretty much a perfect night.
If I was to be picky I could say that the set wasn't long enough, but to be honest Spear could play for a few hours solid and I would still say that.

I suppose it's here that I should practice what I was preaching earlier and tell everyone reading that Kirk will be back in February to do a solo acoustic show in Kilmarnock.
Tickets will be on sale in the next week or so. Here's a wee flyer for it if you want to punt it about this internet webby thing.