Steve Rothery Band / Iamthemorning

Oran Mor, Glasgow

8 June 2024

I'm on the other side of the stage, but I'm still almost on top of it, and I have to report again that the sound mix for Iamthemorning isn't great. Maybe it's just me, maybe I'm just very picky, because tonight I can hear the audience and it's obvious that plenty of people like what they are hearing.

But despite the sub-par sound, there is nothing sub-par about the set. By process of eliminating what was played last night, I had deduced that tonight was going to be overloaded with all of my favourites, and I was right. It was a very David-pleasing set (and I know Marjana arranged it that way especially for me, because, well she just did, ok?). Starting with Scotland, which is a bit of a no-brainer to get this crowd on side, and it ocurred to me they should have played it both nights! (It's not about Scotland, by the way.) And then moving through 30 minutes of their "greatest hits". It's loud, and powerful, and again it's hard for me to comment on individual performances because the subtlety is lost in the mix, but everything I can hear sounds flawless. Marjana's banter seems more comfortable and natural, as she announces songs about being dead with the biggest smile you've ever seen, and she worries about us clapping in 5/4 (in 5/4) before realising we're going to end the night clapping to Garden Party in something ridiculous like 11/8 so we're fine.

Despite the imperfections of the sound, I am very happy with tonight's set.

The Steve Rothery Band have an uphill struggle to convice me, however. Unlike Iamthemorning, they front-loaded all my favourites into a killer set last night, and I'm less invested in the selection of songs they play tonight. Flawless performances, obviously, but I'm slightly emotionally detached from many of these songs. Or at least I would be if it wasn't for the incredible crowd atmosphere that carries me along. And there are still highlights: crowd sing-alongs of Jigsaw, Warm Wet Circles, and an intense performance of The Last Straw to end the set. But I'm not going to call this the best concert I've ever seen unless the encore is Market Square Heroes.

The encore is Garden Party, which is the second-best song they could have chosen.

And then they play Market Square Heroes.

Best concert I've ever seen.