LIVE REVIEW: When Rivers Meet, Dusk Brothers, Saint Luke’s, Glasgow, 03/05/2024
Photo Credit: Barry Douglas
It was another night at Saint Luke’s under the giant glitterball as When Rivers Meet brought their blues music to the Glasgow crowd, with the balcony being shut off for the night it meant that the floor was packed out. So who are When Rivers Meet? They are made up of husband and wife musicians Grace and Aaron Bond who bring powerful vocals alongside thundering guitar riffs setting up a perfect night of music. This was the Aces Are High album tour – released in October 2023 and their third full studio album – which the band promised to play in full and that they did to perfection!
First up though we had The Dusk Brothers, a duo from Bristol who are very unique in that they make their own instruments, examples being guitars fashioned from old metal boxes and drums made partly of old oil drums, these guys know how to rock! Their seven track set was very lively, playing songs from their 2019 released EP Storms, Rum, Liars & Guns. The packed crowd in the room were lapping it up, while not much movement was happening in this old church the fans were studiously watching these two guys go about their business, providing an excellent start to the night. 7/10.
It was now time for the main act When Rivers Meet as they took to the stage around 8.30pm starting with three tracks from the Aces Are High album, Infected, Seen It All Before and Play My Game. The crowd interaction during the second track was the start the band were looking for, this being their third time playing in the city. Vocals, guitar, and now a violin appears in the arms of Grace Bond, definitely a multi-talented musician then! The husband and wife team works really well with the on stage bond between them being incredible and a highlight of the night as the banter went back and forth between them. Bound For Nowhere was one of the best of the night with a great combination of vocals and guitar riffs, these types of gigs are perfect for Saint Luke’s as the acoustics are amazing so it was certainly a great choice of venue for this gig. I’d Have Fallen is a more laid back track but works perfectly, being one of the tracks from their first album We Fly Free released in 2020, great ending to the song building into a great musical crescendo and the violin is out once again. Guitarist Aaron Bond has a new guitar and asks the audience what he should call it, Darth was the suggestion or maybe Vadar. Eye Of A Hurricane is an acoustic track with the four band members sitting together and the drummer playing acoustic guitar, the bass player moving on to electric guitar.
When Rivers Meet head back to the studio soon, an announcement which came with loud cheers from the crowd and the band requesting that the famous glitterball be turned on to the delight of the crowd, helping keep the good vibes going. By Your Side keeps on the acoustic side while the happy couple duet some beautiful vibes, the crowd fall silent taking in every word. Aces Are High reached number nine in the UK album chart but number eight in the Scottish album charts prompting another big cheer from the crowd. Title track Aces Are High is played brilliantly, definitely one of the highlights of the night with a great amount of magic happening on that stage. It was a quiet, reserved crowd tonight but that is expected with blues music, no mosh pits for this gig then!
The main set ended with 5 Minutes to Midnight, Walking On The Wire and Free Man, the crowd showed their appreciation as the band left the stage. The two-track encore began with Golden and the last track of the night was Break The Law, the vocals on this one were very special and the blues guitar work incredible, Grace came out into the crowd for this last song which the fans loved. The next time we get to see When Rivers Meet will be the next album tour, we look forward to it! 9/10.
Written by: Alan Brown
