Review: GUN – PJ Molloys, Dunfermline

So the night after Lancaster’s finest – Massive Wagons – laid waste to PJ Molloys, it was the turn of Scotland’s local heroes GUN to bring the noise to the Kingdom of Fife, not once, but twice, and both on the same evening.

With the stunning new album ‘Hombres’ tucked under their arm, the mighty GUN pulled a masterstroke by adding a few regional shows to this short run of album launch gigs outside of their native Glasgow.

After packing them in for two shows in their hometown, the band journeyed to Dunfermline for the last two shows on a few week’s worth of record store appearances and smaller, more intimate headlining gigs. All with the same purpose; spreading the gospel according to studio album number nine: the Top-10 selling ‘Hombres’. And Fife’s Rock family was out in force to celebrate a band who made the effort to cross the Firth of Forth.

Opening with the catchy newbie ‘Lucky Guy’ (with the throbbing basslines from Andy Carr pile driving into the foundations, and a Glam vibe that makes you wanna bounce) GUN bulldozed through a 12-song set that covered several eras of the band’s stellar 30+ year career.

Naturally, material from ‘Hombres’ played a significant role in proceedings with 6 of the 10 tracks that make up the album’s standard edition aired this evening (the old-school matinee performance being our show of choice). With a chorus tailor-made for audience participation ‘All Fired Up is greeted like a song that has been in the setlist for decades, and it’s perhaps only when hearing it in a live setting that the Ian Astbury-like intro from vocalist Dante Gizzi becomes apparent.

When Dante introduces ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ he begins to talk about what the song is about by saying “This is a song about…” but before he could say what it is about, someone from the crowd shouts “anal” with perfect timing. Cue tears of laughter from everyone within earshot. Once the laughter dies down, the guitar-heavy intro of ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ highlights the impact that new guitarist Roo MacFarlane has made in such a short time and he has slotted in seamlessly alongside the ever-smiling founding member Jools Gizzi who is having a total blast getting up close and personal with those on the barrier.

Other new tracks that hit the mark live – and will give the band some setlist headaches at a later date – are the Stonesy ‘You Are What I Need’, and the slow-burning ‘Falling’. In all honesty, they could have performed their latest release in its entirety and the crowd would have been equally as thrilled.

There is a special moment when GUN drummer Paul McManus takes the mic to introduce Joe Lazarus, the drummer of Twin Atlantic who had stepped in when Paul was being treated for cancer and unable to play, and Paul jokes that when he went to play his first gig back, he couldn’t find his drumsticks because “…they thought that I was going to die and they had flogged them all with the merch!”

What would be the perfect song for Lazarus to perform on after that introduction from McManus? ‘Steal Your Fire’ of course. One of GUN’s classic songs, it is what can only be described as a total banger. Much like encore ‘Inside Out’ which has Dante holding his mic stand out over the crowd for them to take the lead on the chorus. The beaming smiles coming from both Dante and Jools are the highlight of the evening, and to think, in an hour or so they got to do it all over again.

‘Hombres’ is available in multiple formats, check them out HERE.

Connect with GUN HERE

All images – Callum Scott Photography

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