The mighty Snow Patrol gave their Scottish fans a rare treat when they played the 1250-capacity Galvanizer’s at Glasgow’s SWG3 as part of their album launch tour for new release The Forest In The Path.
Snow Patrol are a band that is more used to playing 20,000-capacity arenas, but tonight the fans lucky enough to get a ticket were able to see the whites of the eyes of the band in this more intimate setting. The stage was set up in a minimalist style for frontman and vocalist Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly on guitar and Johnny McDaid on keyboards. There were no drums or bass and only an 8-song set with no warm-up act. This was purposely going to be more like a sing-along with friends in their local, and a night to remember for the devout audience.
The band came onstage at 9:15 pm sharp and launched straight into fan’s favourite “Chocolate”.
This went down a treat before the mega-hit “Run”, had the joyous crowd singing along in unison. Next up was the new album’s anchor track, “The Beginning”, which sits seamlessly among the old favourites and sets the bar just as high for the new album.
“Called Out in the Dark” was given a delightful stripped-back treatment before we were introduced to an anthemic new track, “All”, which is the opening track on “The Forest Is The Path”. Lightbody’s voice filled the auditorium with his heartfelt lyrics and the musicians took us along for the ride as the intensity rose and it felt like an emotional roller coaster.
In this intimate setting, Gary Lightbody spoke to the crowd between songs with humour and a genuine warmth and sheer groundedness which belies the fact that he created one of the most played songs ever of the 21st century. At last count, “Chasing Cars” has over 1.3 billion plays on Spotify alone and it had the crowd singing along to every word. As Lightbody left some of the lines for them to sing, the timing and tunefulness of the audience were immaculate. You could feel the goosebump moments for everyone in the hall.
The feel-good factor continued with another giant of a song, “Just Say Yes”, before the night’s final tune the equally huge “Open Your Eyes”. This sent everyone home with memories of a very special evening in the west end of Glasgow.
If Carlsberg did stripped-back gigs that immersed band fans in pure raw talent, they’d all be like this.
Snow Patrol will be back in Glasgow on 21 February they play the Ovo Hydro as part of an 8-date UK and Ireland Arena tour which also visits London, Birmingham, Manchester, Hull, Cardiff, Belfast and Dublin.
Photography Credit – Clive Braham
About The Author
