PAM WHISENHUNT | Go Venue Magazine
The Glorious Sons wrap up the United States portion of their 2023 Glory Tour finishing in Missouri with stops at the Madrid Theatre in Kansas City October 13th and the Red Flag in St. Louis October 14th, 2023.
Canadian rockers, The Glorious Sons, pulled in a decent crowd Friday night at the elegant Madrid Theatre. The Velveteers opened the show with an industrious alternative rock (maybe a little punk rock) set. This trio from Colorado had me captivated from the start. I’ve seen dueling drums before, but never two drum kits conjoined; one black and one white. Baby Pottersmith and Jonny Figg played off each other perfectly with big, powerful, exaggerated movements and matched energy. Demi Demitro (vocals/guitar) shreds, has a really cool, gothic vibe and the chops to match. The Velveteers entertained start to finish, everything from standing on the drum kit, to Pottersmith jumping off the stage playing a drum in the crowd, to having the crowd hold Demitro’s guitar while playing it. Each are beyond talented.
The Glorious Sons (TGS) hailing from Kingston, Ontario is composed of brothers Brett Emmons (vocals) and Jay Emmons (Guitar), Adam ”Packer” Paquette (Drums), Josh Hewson (keyboard) and the two newest members Peter Van Helvoort (bass) and Steve Kirstein (guitar).
Looking at prior set lists from the tour, I noticed how varied they’ve been. Both Missouri shows stayed with this trend. The Kansas City show started off with “Time Will Reign Down On Me” from their latest album, Glory. This slow and easy song set the tone for the rest of the show. They played all but two songs from the Glory album. TGS played around with song arrangements, did a lot of jamming and dropped a couple impromptu pieces. One was a remixed piece of George Thorogood’s, “Who Do You Love” and the other an unreleased piece they’ve been working on “I’ll Meet You There”. The night felt natural and spontaneous. I loved hearing songs the way they might play them sitting at home jamming.
The St. Louis show had a very different vibe. The venue “Red Flag” was a grungy, industrial venue adorned with conex boxes. When I arrived, there was already a strong showing of “Amigos” from The Glorious Sons fan club. Amigos came from as far as Lincoln, Nashville and Chicago. I knew this show was going to be different when they kicked things off with their biggest hit, “S.O.S. Sawed Off Shotgun”. “Shotgun” got the crowd pumped and kept them going with “Panic Attack”, “Mercy Mercy”, “White Noise”, “Kill the Lights”, “Speed of Light”, “Shapeless Art” and “Godless, Graceless and Young”. It wasn’t until the middle of the set when people were able to catch their breath. TGS came out swinging and left it all out on the stage.
Two Glorious Sons shows, two different vibes. This is why I recommend checking out multiple shows whenever you can; there’s a potential for a different vibe every night. Regardless of what they play, you’ll be treated to some amazing music, and you just might find your next favorite band.
The Glorious Sons
The Velveteers
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