Where: G2 (The Garage) – Glasgow, Scotland (UK)
Venue rating: 9/10 (No real complaints)
Who I went with: Myself
Where I stayed: Travelodge Glasgow Central (which was surprisingly nice)
How I travelled there: Paul drove from Beauly to Edinburgh for work and then I caught a bus to Glasgow
Beverage of choice: None
SETLIST:
- Brace Yourself
- Damn Regret
- False Pretense
- In Fate’s Hands
- Pen And Paper
- Is This The Real World?
- Seventeen Ain’t So Sweet
- Misery Loves Its Company
- Cat And Mouse
- Your Guardian Angel
- All The Small Things (Blink-182 cover)
- Face Down
I have been a fan of The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus for a long time, so I couldn’t resist buying a ticket to see them in Glasgow in a venue that was new to me. One of the first things Ronnie Winter (lead singer of the band) mentioned was how people are constantly telling him they used to listen to them when they were in school, which makes him feel extremely old! There was a lot of self-deprecating humour throughout the night, which was funny but did make me feel my age too. He said they have been together for twenty years and the band may be older than some people in the crowd, which was true as there was someone bragging about being only eighteen. He also talked about how there is a new phrase for people who still consider themselves to be “emo”, which is “Elder Emo”. I have seen the phrase written on some of their merchandise and can see the comedic value but wouldn’t wear those items of clothing as my style has never really been classed as emo, so I wouldn’t be able to pull them off without lying to everybody. If you are not familiar with the emo genre, it is typically characterised by raw and emotional music with a lot of substance.
The band’s biggest hits are undeniably ‘Face Down’ and ‘Your Guardian Angel’, which they saved until last. I confess, those are the only two songs I listened to for years before exploring their other material. More recently, I have become obsessed with ‘The Emergency EP’ which came out in 2020 and is jam packed with thought-provoking lyrics and hard-hitting social commentary. Their songs have mountains of meaning and I think that is the main reason they have such a large and passionate fan base. Their music is not the kind of thing you listen to and simply forget – it sticks with you. Well-written and profound lyrics are hard to come by these days but is something TRJA have mastered from the start. The night was off to an unexpected start when RW took to the stage and announced the show was supposed to be cancelled, due to doctor’s orders. My heart sank as I worried they might pull the plug on it right then and there. I got a lift down from Paul at five o’clock in the morning and had so much anxiety about the recent floods potentially blocking our route I hardly slept, so really didn’t want to turn around and go home. Fortunately, RW reassured us they were going ahead with the show! Even though he wasn’t sounding his strongest, he said he didn’t have the heart to cancel on us. I was worried he might push himself too hard and do more damage to his voice but it seems like there were no cancellations after this, so hopefully he felt better afterwards. He seemed satisfied with his decision to perform after our positive reaction and thanked us for managing to make the night fun for him too.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. First up was Wolves At The Gate, who are described as an American Christian Metalcore band. I don’t typically listen to metal but am open-minded and always keen to find new musicians. The atmosphere was great from the beginning and you could feel the energy in the room. The speakers were blasting tunes by The Offspring, The All-American Rejects, All Time Low and My Chemical Romance etc. which were impossible to not want to sing along to. The smoke machines were in full flow but not distracting or choking and there is a gorgeous disco ball poised above the stage. The only thing I didn’t like about the venue was the pole in the centre of the stage, which seemed really odd and ruined the aesthetics. At one point, Nick Detty (lead singer of WATG) accidentally bumped into it mid-song and had little choice but to laugh it off. Though the style of music is not my thing, the band members had a great stage presence and looked happy to be there. ND pounced over to the barrier and screamed in a fan’s face, which was a very memorable moment – more so for her, I imagine. I was intrigued when they promoted their new album as they discussed bands I admire including twenty one pilots and Linkin Park. You can hear them cover these popular bands and more on their new album ‘Lost In Translation’, with their own metal spin on things. I would listen to that one first, to help ease myself into their music and get a better taste for it. I appreciated the contrast between ND’s voice and Steve Cobucci’s, who plays guitar and provides some of the vocals. They work well together and their polar opposite voices add more complexity to the music. There was a strange moment near the end of their set where SC launched into a religious spiel for two or three minutes, which seemed out of place and made me a little uncomfortable. Thankfully, his speech was met with a warm reception and applause. I was concerned after the silence he might get heckled but people seemed to appreciate what he had to share about his religious beliefs.
I sensed something was not right as soon as TRJA came onstage. The crowd didn’t know how to react to the surprise announcement about the show’s near cancellation but spirits soared once again when the band began performing ‘Brace Yourself’ and RW’s gorgeous vocals shone through, despite his illness. He took breaks between each song and drank a lot of water to help him feel better but he sounded great anyway. The crowd was encouraged to help him along, mainly during the more challenging parts of the songs and the choruses. Everyone did a good job and the crowd participation helped save the night, though I’m sure RW would have been able to carry the songs on his own. I have a lot of respect for him for carrying on until the end, even though he must have felt terrible and maybe insecure about how he sounded. He drew attention to how his voice was a lot deeper than usual, which was especially noticeable when he was talking. The band were fantastic and really got the crowd going and it was such a treat to hear the songs live, as they are some of the most beautiful I have ever heard. Each of the band members had huge smiles on their faces throughout the night, which showed they love and care about performing.
RW told us the first time they played in Glasgow was in 2009 at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut (one of Glasgow’s most famous music venues) and laughed about being upgraded to The Garage. He got us to raise our hands if we were seeing them for the first time and a surprising amount of people did so, including myself. He was sure most of us were only there for ‘Face Down’ and asked how many of us just wanted to hear that one and go home. He poked fun at a bartender who allegedly raised their hand, saying not to tip him. I enjoyed hearing stories about each of the songs, which are all very different from one another. I learned ‘Pen And Paper’ is about growing up, they had stopped playing ‘Seventeen Ain’t So Sweet’ for around ten years and ‘Cat And Mouse’ featured in the hit TV show ‘The Vampire Diaries’, which must have given it a boost. The songs were all very emotional to hear live but I just wish the setlist had been longer. Researching this online, it seems the band has a history of doing only ten or so songs which takes around an hour each time. I’m not sure why this is, as that is a short time to be onstage for a main act. I can hardly complain though, as the tickets were just under £20 and an extremely fair price. Hearing one song by them would be worth the money, as far as I am concerned. No, not necessarily ‘Face Down’! I looked up the setlist before seeing them because I have no willpower and noticed they are doing a cover of ‘All The Small Things’ by Blink-182 on this tour! I immediately notified Paul because they are one of his favourite bands. I adored their version of it and was so scared they would cut it because RW was feeling under the weather and it was probably the least crucial song of the set. He selected it because they are his favourite band and who he used to listen to when he was in school (like how we listened to TRJA), which I thought was a clever idea.
They had two songs left and we were told we should all know what they are, their two most successful ones. ‘Your Guardian Angel’ was stunning live, even though RW said he would probably butcher it. I like when lead singers bring out acoustic guitars as it makes for very intimate moments and it worked very well with this song. I have been a huge fan of it for years, so I couldn’t believe I was standing there witnessing it being performed. The crowd soon started chanting “one more tune!” which seemed to confuse the band because of the thick Scottish accents but they soon caught on. RW laughed and asked why we can’t just talk and negotiate instead of chanting because it makes him feel weird. ‘Face Down’ was absolutely worth the wait and everyone was rocking out to it and headbanging. The band knows how to capture and hold your attention from beginning to end and their sound is unique and endearing. I don’t know any other bands resembling them, which is a huge compliment. I was sad when the gig was over but happy I got to see the band and incredibly thankful the show went ahead as scheduled as I don’t think it would have been easy for them to reschedule. The two setlists from the stage were given out to fans who stood out the most. I am invisible at these events but reached my hand out for one of the extra three or so which were brought out from the side of the stage and got lucky. I didn’t hang around the venue to ask the band to sign it for me, as I thought they would be eager to get some rest after their stressful day. It still makes a great memento. I also bought a t-shirt with the band logo on it. It was hard to make up my mind which one I wanted but the ‘Face Down’ lyrics one sold-out just before I reached the table, which made the decision for me. I had a fantastic time even though I experienced a fair bit of anxiety throughout the day and would love to see the band again under better circumstances, though I was far from disappointed!
GALLERY
Before the place filled up
Wolves At The Gate
Close-up
Better attempt at a full band pic
Atmospheric
The pole seems so weirdly placed to me
Blurry (kind of creepy) crowd shot. Probably not far off what we looked like from RW’s POV
Encouraging us to sing along
My favourite picture from the night
Chatting to the fan who knew all the lyrics
‘Your Guardian Angel’
Guitar pose
The venue. I forgot to take a photo at night so walked back in the rain
The main entrance to The Garage. The sign probably says to queue at the back for G2
Setlist