NEON HURRICANE LEAVE THE CROWD HYPNOTISED AT GLASGOW FERRY SHOW
Neon Hurricane: The Ferry, Glasgow
5th July 2017


Words: Johnny Main, Pictures: Carlan Braid





Young Glasgow quartet Neon Hurricane have been making a name for themselves in the city over the last few months. A couple of small but high profile gigs under their belt and a trip or two to the recording studio are helping bolster their confidence while their fan base seems to be growing week by week as the word spreads. A sneaky wee Thursday night gig at Glasgow's Ferry seemed an opportune time to catch the band live and as the MetalTalk Team arrived, the band were just hitting the stage.

For a young band, they actually pulled a respectable audience who, apart from a couple of gobby girls in the front of guitarist Graeme Craig, didn't venture too close to the front of the stage despite encouragement from frontman Jason Minto, preferring instead to stay seated on the sidelines.



It's been a full circle for Minto and Craig who first met at the venue as punters a decade ago, so it's been a long time coming for them to grace the stage as artists, but neither seem fazed by the experience of returning to the scene of the crime, as it were.

With an hour to fill, the band played a variety of tracks from their, as yet uncompleted, debut album. Amongst these tracks were 'Raining Mondays' which is a good solid rock number with the guitar loud and clear, which couldn't be said for other parts of the performance where it was barely audible at times. Drummer James Maxwell may have been stuck at the back with only a high intensity light and a small fan for company but he did a thorough job with the complex beat and the song turned into an early highlight of their set.



'Shady Little Faces' was laid down in the studio by the band just the previous week, and it was a great opportunity for the rhythm section of Maxwell and bass player Connor Browning to show what a powerful and solid pair they are. With a shouty, easy to remember chorus, the crowd certainly had a hook to grab onto when encouraged by Minto, and easily made it one of his best performances of the night.

'King Kong' was another new track, this time penned by Browning who was the star here with the rumbling bass intro before the stomping beat kicked in as the track took off with the drums and guitar. Again, Minto was hard to miss here with another strong performance proving he's got what it takes to lead the band forwards whilst Browning was working so hard he managed to loosen a bass string halfway through but carried on as best he could.



'Sweet Lady' was another highlight with Craig taking centre stage with possibly his best solo of the night - everything was right for him for the short but effective solo before Minto reasserted himself in centre stage. There seemed to be something of a power struggle for the attention of the audience throughout the set from Minto and Craig, but I guess it's just young exuberance, right?

'Little House' featured a mesmerising vocal performance from Minto with Maxwell keeping the beat strong and true at the back before Craig stepped up for the solo as the song reached its crescendo in what was an epic finish to a really great track and the audience reaction at the end told you all you needed to know about what they thought of it.



After a quick jam and band intros it was 'Hypnotized' that lived up to its name – the heaviest number of the set by a long way focusing the audience attention on the Browning/Maxwell pairing who really drove the track home. Minto once again took centre stage with an enthusiastic performance and his voice really suited the heavier grind of the track, and it seemed to be another crowd favourite given the generous applause at its conclusion.

Minto dealt with a couple of hecklers towards the end of the set well before showing his versatility as a frontman with some unaccompanied harmonica during the intro to the final number, 'Follow The Rock'N'Roll'. It didn't take the audience long to start clapping along to this potentially future Neon Hurricane classic track closing off an overall entertaining set. I mean, the band could have come out and filled their set with a selection of well-trodden cover tunes, but instead opted to play a well performed set of original material showing they have the confidence in not only their ability as musicians but also in their own material. Good on 'em!









Neon Hurricane Setlist:
Higher Place
Fake It
Raining Mondays
Shady Little Faces
Sweet Lady
Little House
NH Jam
Hypnotized
King Kong
Follow The Rock'N'Roll



Neon Hurricane are:
Jason Minto – Vocals
Graeme Craig – Guitars
Connor Browning – Bass Guitar
James Maxwell – Drums