I arrived halfway through PUC’s set. Having never heard anything about them, seen the name, or knew their history on the live circuit, they played a confident set opening for two very good bands. Kinda Nirvana-y, kinda Radiohead-y, and also kinda Bush-y at the same time. Kinda not bad-y all round...

Threshold 6 on the other hand, are heavily influenced by the likes of Fear Factory and don’t mind showing it one bit. Having seen this four-piece from Perth before, I knew what to expect. A blistering set, crisp & clear no-fuss sound, and lots of technological troubles! I wasn’t disappointed. Their pint-sized vocalist (struggling to meet 5 feet tall) has one hell of a voice on him, the tall animated guitarist went on to break 4 strings (two of them on a borrowed guitar), and the even taller frenetic bassist (allegedly) had a dose of the squits before going onstage. They still managed to pull it off, though, and if this was their first Glasgow gig (which I suspect it was), I’m sure they’ll be welcome back. Maybe not at The Arena though... at the very end of their set, the soundman leapt onstage to discipline the singer with a firm slap across the jaw for throwing the mics around during the last song. Personally, I thought that this reaction was quite uncalled for, even if the mics were the personal property of the man at the desk. If you’re reading this guys, I’ll be a witness if you want to press charges. This was the only incident to ruin a good night for this young band.

The return of the newly slimmed down version of Dying Sun to what is fondly regarded as their second home was what people were here to see, though. Having parted company with frontman Mark ‘Mr Showbiz’ Keddie just six weeks before their scheduled tour of England, including being scouted by Rise Above Records, some of their following had good reason to believe the band had gone insane. However, the tour was completed by the remaining four-piece band under a new Stoner Blues banner, and this was the first chance for the home crowd to see their favourite ‘Suns for the first time since the split with the vocalist. What followed was certainly not expected. If DS had gone all out to surprise the faithful, they certainly managed it!

Gone are the carefully crafted Doomier numbers, to be replaced by what can only be described as stoned out bluesy rock epics. If I didn’t know that the band were clean as a whole, I’d have said that they’d started buying into the drugs scene big time on this showing. One song, Purple Demon Blues was dedicated to the departed singer who was in the audience, and probably as bemused as everyone else appeared to be.

Repetitive riffs do not a hit song make, however, it’s no bad thing in techno and the nature of the beast that is Blues. Guitarists Graeme & Scott are now doing vocals for DS, and I think they’d both agree that neither of them are as strong or confident vocally as the predecessor. Graeme’s voice is the stronger of the two, but pitch-wise can sometimes be off to the extent that it doesn’t go with the song anymore. Scott, on the other hand, is almost note-perfect and probably a better singer than Mark. Unfortunately, what I perceive to be a lack of confidence in himself tends to make him extremely quiet over the mic.

Scott took the vocal duty for the unannounced cover of Kyuss’s Thumb. It’s just as well that Graeme announced that DS were going to play Sorrow’s Smile (a track featured on their first proper demo Prime Ordeal), otherwise myself & most others wouldn’t have recognised it. It’s become a bluesy, bass-ridden plodder; completely different from it’s former psyche. [actually that was a joke, it wasn't really Sorrow's Smile at all, but new song Molten Dawn - Ed]

On the whole, I think everyone else who was there to see them felt the same. Shock & surprise rolled into one. Will this new direction work for Dying Sun? Does the change in direction merit a name change like I think it does? Will I get a sore arse from sitting on the fence over this? Time will tell... one thing’s for sure, though... if they’re not on drugs at the moment, I know a good dealer...