Music review: Stereophonics, Hydro, Glasgow

With almost 25 years of music to their name, Stereophonics had a lot to get through in two hours, so they started rocking with the lights on before the full fairylight extravaganza turned the Hydro into a sparkling installation.

Stereophonics fell back on the dynamism of the music - which was not always that dynamic

Stereophonics, Hydro, Glasgow ***

Furrowed brow frontman Kelly Jones had finessed some extended anecdotes for the occasion, including a fond remembrance of their late drummer Stuart Cable and a cute tale about how the bathtime pecking order in his house ultimately inspired his first songs, However, there was little in their pedestrian pop/rock to stimulate until some chunky baritone sax added interest to the chugging Geronimo.

The acoustic soul of Maybe Tomorrow incited the first therapeutic singalong of the night. At the time of its release, Stereophonics were the tortoise to Oasis’s hare, with this song as their Wonderwall. With a string of Number One albums to their name, they have aced the long game, though nothing in this show quite connected like a mini-set of material from their debut album, Word Gets Around, performed in tight formation on a small stage in the centre of the room.

Lacking the charisma to consume an arena, they fell back on the dynamism of the music – which was not always that dynamic. Periodic highlights included the gruff soul of Make Friends with the Morning, the cleansing sound of piano and mournful trumpet on Handbags and Gladrags and the hint of danger in the solid rock of Superman, before they climaxed with the energy bombs of The Bartender and the Thief and Dakota.