Billy Talent – Barrowlands, Glasgow – 23rd October 2009

‘I left my heart in Glasgow!’ was the cry of singer Ben Kowalewicz as he wrapped up the band’s headline show at the Barras - ‘the second best venue in the world’ - every bit as sweaty as the impassioned fans who chanted every word to every song back.

Praise for the Scots flowed throughout the gig, telling of how they were ‘good people like the Canadians’; how he’d been warned not to talk about ‘football’; the amazing people they always met, and dedicating an emotional ‘White Sparrows’ to his recently deceased Scottish friend - the ‘most kind-hearted [person] that ever lived’.

There was a slew of songs from across the band’s three-album career - tracks from the debut record causing the crowd to bounce the entire sprung-dance floor to breaking point, and the tracks from latter years almost coming as close.

Stories about being mistaken by pretty girls for someone else whilst sitting eating tuna sandwiches led the way into tales of former girlfriends’ infidelity - ‘Don’t be fooled Gentlemen! … tits will only get you so far!
Any other band talking about such things would come across as contrived, or worse… simple, but everything about them came across with such credibility; it was difficult not to be enamoured.

The Barras was lit up at the end as the lights were turned on the crowd, and a circle pit was ordered to finish off the evening to the tune of ‘Red Flag’. As it stretched to engulf most of the length of the venue, Kowalewicz towered above like a ring-master conducting the chaos below. With a band that manages to defy any specific genre or fan-stereotype, he looked every bit on the verge of jumping in at any moment to join them.

Where have all the bands with the genuine passion and energy of the ilk of At The Drive In gone? As long as we have Billy Talent, there’s hope yet.

Photos from the gig are here.