The Jesus and Mary Chain

With Ciel

The Barrowland Ballroom, 7 December 2024

In the mid to late eighties, The Jesus and Mary Chain unleashed two classic albums, Psychocandy and Darklands that defined not just the band, but a genre of music that continues to reverberate on occasions like that at The Barrowland Ballroom, 40 years after they first exploded onto the scene.

Time has been a great healer as far as the band is concerned. The acrimonious ending to the band in the late nineties came as little surprise to their fans, though like all good stories, there has been a happy return to form in recent times, culminating in this year’s 40^th anniversary celebratory tour.

Like so many of the gigs that have shaped this particular #AtoZMusicalTour, many in the audience at the sold out Barrowlands were of a certain maturity. Fans from the early days they had continued their association with the band throughout the good, and the bad times.

Social media has a lot to answer for, however, reviewing the post gig frenzy of posts that found their way into my own feeds, there was an overall acceptance that the band, and the Reid brothers Jim and William in particular, had put on one of their best ever shows.

The setlist covered their whole career from the opening JAMCOD from their most recent album Glasgow Eyes to the closing Reverence from Honey’s Dead. All the fans’ favourites were there to sing along to.

The floor was bouncing, the band were flowing and throughout their time on stage William stood almost statuesque to the left of drummer Justin Welch. A guitar slung around his neck; he once again showcased the virtuosity that has afforded him legendary status.

While the focus will always point to the Reid brothers, there’s no doubting the formidable team that shares the stage with them. Justin Welch on drums is a colossus of energy pounding away throughout the entirety of the set, while both Scott Von Ryper and Mark Crozer provide the essential backdrop to enable the group to deliver such a wall of sound.

William and Jim have recently published a warts and all account of their lives. 

From the audience reaction as the band ended their set, it would appear that many are happy to ‘understand‘ the band just as they are, just as they were and, hopefully, just as they will always be.

Support act CIEL

There was very little fanfare as Michelle Hindricks led fellow band members Ruby Taylor and Tim Spencer onto the, by her own admission, huge Barrowlands stage, for their second night at the iconic venue in support of the JAMC.

They proved an ideal fit as support act, with their jangly indie pop a hit with the ever growing audience as the set progressed. Short, sharp songs, interwoven with fine musicianship were the order of the evening and, while there is big pond of similar acts looking to make their own breakthrough, working with the JAMC cannot do them any harm in the near future.

Michelle also came back on stage during the JAMC set herself singing backing vocals on both Sometimes Always and Just Like Honey, two stints that were warmly appreciated by Jim Reid and the packed out crowd in front of her.