Music review: Saint Phnx Barrowland, Glasgow

Saint Phnx’s anthemic pop-rock is cut from familiar cloth

Saint Phnx, Barrowland, Glasgow ***

Family is clearly important to Saint Phnx – they are a fraternal act after all, with frontman Stevie and guitarist Alan Jukes joined live by musical brother John Cargill on guitar. Their biggest anthem – and they have anthems on tap – was inspired by the passing of their father and there was a cheeky plan to ask their granny to introduce this soldo-ut headliner using some ripe language. Sadly, she passed away recently, lending fresh resonance to a chest-beating new song pledging “until we meet again my love”.

Whatever you make of their music – and this audience were wholly on board with the Celtic catharsis – it was hard not to fall for the sincerity of their thank yous to their crew, the venue staff and particularly to Barrowland manager Tom Joyes for his faith in the band when he added them to the venue mural of headliners as a prediction of where they would end up.

Now they had made it, they were making the most of their slot, treating this hallowed ballroom like a Hydro practise run, with handsome, hypnotic visuals and a second stage at the back of the hall from which to deliver the fears-bustingViolence and Spiders and the self-believing King.

Their anthemic pop/rock is cut from familiar cloth, at times like Oasis with a thundering Celtic edge, mixed up with thegalloping electro rock of Death of Me, catchy turbo-charged pop of Invisibleand the folky jugband stomp of Blue Feather.

An energetic run of Something in the Water, Nunchuk and Shake rounded off a trim hour, supplemented with the shouty Celtrock of Deadmen and the strong hooks and martial drumming of Happy Place. As the group hugged under a confetti shower, you could see how much this meant.