Big Country

Some issues with the venue: first we were told we could sit anywhere. Then people near us were moved, so I went and double checked - yes, you can sit anywhere unless there's a reserved sign on the seat. You can guess what's coming - we had to move from our front row, middle seat because people who bought via Dorking Halls had allocated seats unlike those of us who bought through SEE.

Then the sound desk. Never known a battle between band and desk like this one. At one stage they apparently sent the bass (far right) to the guitarists' monitor (far left) and vice versa! For the first few songs the roadie was running himself ragged going from stage to desk. I was wondering if the sound guy was in the same room as it was pretty obvious when e.g. the vocals couldn't be heard in the room. The band were getting increasingly frustrated and eventually Bruce had to speak harshly to the desk from the stage ("can you look at me, I'm trying to explain") completely the fault of the desk, not the band.

So, when everything finally settled down the lads gave a fine account of themselves. They sounded really good. One caveat - if you're doing the 35th anniversary tour of an album, it's normal to play the whole album, not just 2/3rds of it. And a proper encore rather than a brief reprise of the Chance chorus would have been welcome. But for a long time fan who'd not managed to catch them before thoroughly enjoyed it. I'd definitely go see them again. Not at the Dorking Halls though, I suggest they stick to local election counts and Rod Stewart impersonators with taped backing.

Well, I wasn't expecting that!

Fact is, I expected the audience to be of a certain age, and to bob their heads and sing along politely. Because, well, this is a band from the 80s. And I was at least partially right. Plenty of folks in their 40s and 50s. As am I. The band, too. That said, I've been to a bunch of shows by punk bands from the 90s recently with equally ageing audiences, and you couldn't cattle-prod the punters into starting a mosh pit. So what I really wasn't expecting was that the crowd watching Big Country would turn into the biggest, greatest mosh pit I've seen in years. It was glorious. Big Country fans are hardcore.

The band was great. The set-list, not bad. My only complaint is that the encore was...well, strange. They went off stage, we cheered and chanted and they came back...and played a song that clearly only about a third of the audience was familiar with. I thought, "Well, obviously they're going to do a couple of songs, because it would be crazy to end the night on this song that isn't one of their big ones." But no. Strangely, they then turned up the lights, did a long band introduction (is it still an introduction if it's at the end?) and trooped off the stage. Odd, and disappointing.

But other than that, a hell of a show! Just play 13 Valleys next time, boys. ;)

The scene was set it had been a glorious day in Glasgow and what better way to spend the evening than with a trip to the Kelvingrove Bandstand.
It was Fife's finest. A triple bill of Rezillos, Big Country and The Skids. Rezillos were punchy but I was there to see Big Country and The Skids in particular. Obviously we have lost Stuart Adamson and he can never be replaced but the guys certainly did not let him down.
Mike Peters ex of The Alarm is on vocals now for Big Country and sounds not dissimilar to Stuart along with Bruce Watson on lead guitar the band sounds as good as ever. Opening with '1000 Stars' I was transported back to the days of gigs at Tiffanys and Barrowlands in their and my heyday.
The set was full of all the big hits with my particular favourites on the night being 'Chance' and 'In a Big Country' but every song was a crowd pleaser. I wanted more but with 3 bands on the bill their set was limited. I look forward to the next gig but will be hard to match this gig. The perfect alignment of the weather, the venue and the line up doesn't happen to often in Glasgow.
I'm sure Stuart enjoyed it too.

Alternative rock and celtic folk outfit Big Country may have achieved the majority of their recognisable success in the early 80s yet over thirty years since their formation, they have attained a cult like following. The group has always received praise for enhancing their rock sounds with the celtic influences of their homeland and when you watch them perform onstage you are able to see each component working in far more detail. There may only be four musicians yet they are all multi-instrumentalists so they are constantly switching between guitars, percussion and more traditional folk instruments to recreate the music.

Impressively it sounds similar to the record with those great Celtic tones really coming through and transporting you to the highlands of Scotland. Although there has been a number of hiatuses through the 2000s, following on from the release of 2013 LP 'The Journey' the band seems to be on a corrected path. Performing together stronger than ever and with more energy and passion than has been seen since the late 90s, it is once again a great experience to go and watch them play.

I saw the great Scottish rock band Big Country on their tour in 2011. They had many of the original members and I have been a big fans since my dad played me their album The Crossing. That was their big break out album in the United States and included the brilliantly produce smash hit “In a Big Country” which has been a radio standard since.

The band showed their age a little bit but they still had a ton of energy. The crowd was also pretty old butt they were all thrilled to see the band play. They did not play a very long set, but it was packed full of all their hits and actually some new songs. They did tell everyone they were working on a new album that might come out in several years. Those songs were really pretty good.

They closed with “In a Big Country” and the crowd sang along every time the chorus came on. They also were able to mimic the bagpipe sounds of the original recording on their guitars they had. It really did sound like the album and record. They did an encore of a cover song. Everyone left in a good mood, probably thinking about the 1980’s.

Big Country And The Other 80's Bands Were Outstanding ! But The Venue "The Microsoft Theater" Sucks As A Place To Enjoy A Concert ! The Sound Acoustics Are Good But The Seating Stinks To High Heaven. 90% Of The Theater Is Orchestra Seating (On The Floor) You Pretty Much Have To Stand For 95% Of The Concert Or Watch The Bands On The TV Screens If You Can See Them (You Might As Well Be At Home) Microsoft Theater Is A Place To See A Stage Play, Not A Concert. Anyone With Mobility Issues Do Not Go Here To Enjoy A Concert Unless You Can Stand For Long Periods Of Time.

The band has lost none of the enthusiasm for gigging over the years. They put on a full throttle performance and included the big hits performed faithfuly to the originals.

Quite honestly I would highly recommend seeing Big Country, I had not seen them as the original line up so cannot make any comparison but my friends had seen them back in the day and they all enjoyed seeing this current line up.

So don't hesitate and go and enjoy the upcoming Big Country gigs. I'll deffinately be looking out for them in future.

Saw Big Country at Rock & Bike Fest with brother Mick. Both agreed a fantastic performance, every bit as good as when I saw them last over 35 years ago, and making plans to see them again later in the year at the Robin 2, in Bilston. Be there, well worth it

Brilliant concert, but wish they would play more from their greatest hits album. Went last year & loved it too.certainly got money's worth as they were on 1.5 hours.
Will go again next year !

Brilliant show, been a long time ran of the band and it was great to see them in this line up playing all the anthems and enjoying themselves. Venue was good as well