Artists: Gun, Kira Mac, Collateral
Venue: Leeds, The Brudenell
Date: 10 December 2024
"With a top ten album and brilliant live set, I’m happy to report that Gun are still firing on all cylinders!"
It seemed crazy only opening the doors to the venue at 7.30 pm when the first band hit the stage at 7.45 pm; however, by the end of Collateral’s short thirty-minute set, it was packed to the 400-people capacity.
Collateral
As the intro tape played the sound was very poor and initially remained poor for the start of ‘Glass Sky’, but fortunately it did improve. Despite the chilly weather outside, bassist Jack Bentley-Smith played bare-chested and along with frontman Angelo Tristan proceeded to whip up the already enthusiastic crowd. Tristan strapped on an acoustic guitar for the Bon Jovi-esque ‘Just One Of Those Days’, which featured an over-the-top ending featuring guitarist Louis Malagodi and drummer Ben Atkinson. The quartet continued to wow the ever-increasing audience with ‘On The Long Road’, the second single from their sophomore opus ‘Should’ve Known Better’. With such a short time to engage the crowd, it was a brave decision to have a singalong during ‘No Place For Love’, but it was one that ultimately paid off as the band were going down a storm. I heard several punters remark how good they were; therefore, it’s a shame that only fifty fans turned out two weeks earlier on the band’s headline show at The Corporation in Sheffield (see my full review of this show also in Fireworks). They completed their short, but fantastic set with ‘Mr. Big Shot’, a great start to the evening’s entertainment.
Setlist (contains spoilers)
Kira Mac
A quick changer over and Kira Mac (aka Rhiannon Kira Hill) and her band, Vern Whitmore (bass), Loz Riley (drums) and Joe Worrall (guitars), hit the stage to a great reception. Following ‘One Way Ticket’ and ‘Dead Man Walking’ Kira thanked the crowd for coming out early to check out the support artists. As they only had a short set she said in her broad Lancashire accent, “I’m going to shut the fuck up!” The latter brought derisions of laughter from both the crowd and her bandmates alike.
Kira was the only one who mentioned the festive season this evening, alluding to her Christmas pudding socks. Riley, the young baby face drummer, despite heralding from Huddersfield received a great reception before the superb title track of the band’s debut album ‘Chaos Is Calling’, with the crowd singing the “hay, hay, hay” to great effect. The new track ‘Monster’ from next year’s sophomore album (to be released 27th June 2025) got an airing and the catchy ‘Farewell’ preceded the excellent ‘Climbing’. An hour-and-a-half in and we were already two from two.
Setlist (contains spoilers)
Gun
Despite the tasty hors-d'oeuvres, there was still a big appetite left for the main course. As ‘Delilah’ played over the PA, the expectant crowd started singing along before Dante Gizzi (lead vocals), Giuliano “Jools” Gizzi (guitar), Paul McManus (drums), Andy Carr (bass) and Ruaraidh MacFarlane (guitar) hit the stage and launched into ‘Lucky Guy’ from their latest album ‘Hombres’. The sound was better than for the two support bands, and it was great to hear the backing vocals so prominent in the mix. I was standing just in front of the mixing desk, which also meant my wife Carol could sit down in between songs. The amphitheatre-shaped room gives great viewing from almost everywhere in the venue, height restrictions notwithstanding.
Following the opening tracks Dante let out a tirade of expletives; however, these were not in anger but over-excitement on how many fans had turned out on a “school night” and the reception they were giving the band. From there to the end of the show the momentum and enjoyment just kept increasing. The crowd interaction raised a level during ‘Welcome To The Real World’ with the four musicians at the front of the stage bouncing up and down in unison. Dante thanked the crowd for helping put their latest album ‘Hombres’ into the Top Ten in the UK charts (#1 in Scotland). It also made it to #2 in the Fireworks Top Ten Albums of the Year. ‘All Fired Up’ is already a classic in the making and sure to feature in many more future live shows to come.
Dante comedically told the stories of ‘Falling’ and ‘Pride’ relating to the Samuel L. Jackson film ‘Damaged’, in between ridiculing (in a loving manner) guitar tech Hayden for looking like Postman Pat. Dante’s friendly interaction with the crowd just helped to elevate the already fantastic atmosphere, although I’m sure many were having trouble understanding his broad Glaswegian accent. ‘Money (Everybody Loves Her)’ featured a prodigious guitar solo from Jools and had the crowd singing along once again. Dante encouraged more audience participation during the superb ‘Take Me Back Home’, highlighting, “The chorus is easy as there’s no fucking words!”
A lot of eyebrows were raised, especially in the Rock community, when back in 1994 Gun covered the Funk R&B Cameo track ‘Word Up!’. However, they produced one of the all-time classic covers that’s clearly accepted by Rock fans, judging by this evening’s reaction. The whole evening was joyous from start to finish; however, if I had to only pick ten minutes, then it would have been the pairing of ‘Inside Out’ and ‘Steal My Fire’ to close out the main set, which had the whole joint rockin’!
The five members briefly left the stage before the brothers returned for an acoustic version of ‘Taking On The World’, Dante sounding fantastic. After band introductions, the encore continued with their first single ‘Better Days’ and concluded with an extended version of ‘Shame On You’. With a top-ten album and brilliant live set, I’m happy to report that Gun are still firing on all cylinders!
Setlist (contains spoilers)
Review: Mark Donnelly
Location:
Comments