Almost five years to the day when The Temperance Movement played their final show, after some teasing on social media, the band announced their return for March and April 2025. Sell-out shows followed, becoming some of the hottest tickets our scene has seen in quite some time. Which led to more shows being announced, including their return to that most mythological of UK venues – the Barrowland Ballroom. Having played it twice before, and both shows being some of the best gigs I’ve ever been to, it was a no-brainer to go back home for their third time under those disco balls, curved roof and stars.
The response to those shows are testament to how much they’ve been missed and a sold-out Barras is only further proof. It’s unsurprising that by the time opening act, Sam Palladio, takes to the stage, the place is already rammed, even on a weeknight. After the landfill indie opening number fills me with dread, thankfully, the rest of the set gives way to pop-flavoured roots rock and nu-country songs. With a band like The Temp, you can’t go left-field in your – you have to have something in this realm rather than a hairy, sweaty power trio which rattles your fillings. Palladio mentions his role on Nashville and writing with Simon Neil whilst also dropping a bombshell about a new Biffy Clyro album (this isn’t an exclusive piece of news – Palladio told 2000 other people in the room about this). You can’t fault Palladio’s endeavours tonight – it’s the biggest and final show of the tour. But no-one’s here to see him. The applause is polite, but you can tell it’s not resonating. Undoubtedly, he wears his heart on his sleeve, having experienced loss even whilst on this tour and it’s the authenticity of him which becomes the saving grace.
Anticipation swells in the Ballroom as the d start time of 9pm comes and goes. It continues to build, and you can feel it turn to impatience. One person behind me jokes: “Maybe they’ve split up again”. Fifteen minutes and that impatience has reverted to anticipation. Finally, they appear, and instead of strapping on their instruments and taking their places, the five men of The Temperance Movement huddle around the centre microphone for an acoustic rendition of “Chinese Lanterns”. It’s a display of solidarity, brotherhood and togetherness. The heart-rending lyrics displayed like this makes the song even more powerful and makes for a poignant moment which kicks off the ninety-minute thrill ride.
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The applause is suitably rapturous, and it feels like at any moment the foundations of the world-famous venue will crumble. It’s a pattern which plays out after every song. But now, Messrs Campbell, Sayer, Potashnick, Fyffe and Lea take their rightful spots. And it is on. The past five years are forgotten, and they perform as if they’ve never been away. It would have been wrong for any song other than “Only Friend” to kick off the show in earnest. The way it ramps up, slowly through every gear, allowing the band and audience to bed in together for the evening, mirroring the debut album.
Unsurprisingly, after the sombreness of the opening number, it’s like a switch has been flipped in Campbell and he’s straight into his trademark contortions, bouncing and dancing and as in love with what he’s hearing as the couple of thousand people on the floor are. His gravelly, rasping vocals are as good as they’ve ever been, if not, better. It’s as if he’s nipped to the nearest B&Q and found the coarsest sandpaper on offer and ate it for dinner. It’s this combination which made him a potent frontman all those years ago and like all those legends he draws influence from, he’s only gotten better with age. It’s hard to take your eyes off him and even when he talks between songs, his Glaswegian drawl is magnetic. But it’s not just campbell who is having fun. Guitarist Paul Sayer is the epitome of nonchalance without turning aloof, his fiery fretwork imioned like all the best players. Meanwhile, the return of Luke Potashnick to the fold makes the nostalgia burn brighter. He’s effortlessly cool, not being overly flashy and plays with plenty of panache – like all the best players and his fellow six-stringer.
There’s fat grooves for them to hook onto with Nick Fyffe’s thick bass lines and Simon Lea’s proficient drumming. The pair of them lock in and make those big, striding rhythms to create a live experience which is nothing short of bombastic. And through it all, everyone’s smiling, you can feel the love and connection which has been re-forged through the last couple of weeks of touring. But that’s what The Temperance Movement have always been about especially when Campbell explains the origins of the songs – so many of them are based on positivity, even the slower songs.
Naturally, they draw heavily from the self-titled debut with the rambunctious “Take it Back” putting in an early appearance along with the stomp and twist of the bright “Be Lucky”, the nostalgia-fuelled “Ain’t No Telling” and “Smouldering” which now sounds like it could have been on a Rolling Stones album with Keith Richards on vocals. Across the White Bear and A Deeper Cut, they get their swagger on with “Battle Lines”, “Oh Lorraine” and “Caught in the Middle” with the White Bear material stripping out the indie vibe, now sounding grittier and working as a stepping stone between the debut and A Deeper Cut. While it may be about giving a high-energy show, they’re not afraid to show their sensitive side with “Pride”, the ethereal “Another Spiral” and “A Deeper Cut”, the last of which brings the evening to an end. It’s haunting and moving, you can see the band put as much power into it as they do on the most upbeat numbers and is a fitting crescendo.
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“Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” introduces the encore and it’s borderline jubilant, and if you’re in Glasgow, of course you’ve seen the rain. Speaking of Glasgow, the city gets its own dedication with “Backwater Zoo” – the double-edged sword which this city is. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Temperance Movement show if they didn’t close with “Midnight Black”. And just like that, the night comes to an end. Much like those last two Barras shows, this is not just an “I was there” moment for the band’s history but it stands as one of those moments for the whole city. They’re still a band who bleed authenticity in their music, in their performance and in Campbell’s addresses to the crowd. When he says what the venue, city and the fans mean to him and the band, you know it’s as true as the sky being blue. There’s always some fear that when a band comes back, that it’ll never be as good as it originally was and by extension, tarnish the initial run. But that’s certainly not the case tonight. Frankly, it was never a worry. Whilst it’s unknown what the future holds for the band, we can at least say we got to see one more run – and it was glorious. As popular and as vital as they were when they were constantly touring for most of the 2010s, and even better performers, tonight is as close to magic as it gets. Round three is just like those first two – gig of the year.
Photos by Gavin Lowrey
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i recorded this gig , to send to my cousin America , ..i listen to it every week ..what a gig it was