If you didn’t know, you could make a lot of assumptions about Sam Palladio — and most of them would be wrong.
You’d probably guess he was American which — unless they’ve moved Cornwall — would be well wide of the mark.
Then you might know he was in the show “Nashville” and assume he’d be country, or just another actor playing at being a rock star.
Half an hour here is enough to disavow you of both those stereotypes.
That much is clear from the moment “B.O.A.T” opens things in a more pop-leaning way than you’d expect. Even when he sings “Let’s take ya down to Tennessee” on the groovy little number “Tennessee,” there’s not much whiskey-swilling going on.
Palladio is visibly and audibly passionate about the music he makes, saying that “Meanwhile In London” was the record that started it all.
And he’s clearly buzzing about “Spilled My Heart,” a collaboration with Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil — a man Palladio calls “a hero who it blows my mind to call a friend.”
Then, with a simple “Let’s take it up a notch,” it’s time for the chart-ready “Gone Like The Summer.”
But there’s depth here too. Palladio speaks candidly about the album being about “home and family,” and movingly shares stories about losing his mum and, more recently, his grandad. All of which gives “Something On My Mind” an even more poignant air.
“Jenny” sounds absolutely massive — and this half-hour proves two things. First, Sam Palladio isn’t acting here. And second, he’s probably going to be huge.
May 13th, 2013. A band who at the time only had an EP out played a pub in a Birmingham suburb.
In the review I wrote that night, this was the conclusion:
“They [play] with the confidence of a band that knows they will never play a venue this size again – unless they want to do a warm-up before their sell-out UK tour of arenas in 10 years. Trust me, The Temperance Movement are that good. Get on board now.”
April 6th, 2025. Most of those guys are here again — downstairs in a venue where they’ve previously sold out the big room, both topping the bill and opening for Blue Öyster Cult. That show happened on February 27th, 2019, and it ranks as the last time I saw them.
Five years ago, they split up. Then last month, they played a handful of tiny venue shows before adding three more in slightly bigger rooms. This is the first of those.
Now we’re all caught up, all that remains is to try and capture the 100 minutes the band are on stage.
The simple version? It begins and ends with five guys standing there. First, to deliver the utterly gorgeous “Chinese Lanterns,” and at the end, to take the applause.
What happened in between is harder to sum up. Because straight after the oddly understated opener, they launch into “Only Friend” — and it’s tough to know what’s more joyous: the crowd reaction to that or the band tearing into “Take It Back.”
The key line in that, “take it back to where it was,” seems more resonant than ever given the circumstances. And honestly? What’s the trick to it beyond having a load of brilliant songs, brilliantly played and sung? Not much else — except there’s magic happening when they do it, as “Pride” proves.
The energy courses through them. Phil Campbell’s dad dancing is still sensational, mind you, but “Get Yourself Free” sounds simply enormous, and “Be Lucky” grooves hard.
Campbell speaks movingly before “Another Spiral,” but the way the show is balanced means that for every slower moment, there’s something else to offer the yin to its yang. Here it’s the riff of “Oh Lorraine,” and another classic — apt word — from the debut: “Ain’t No Telling.”
The rest of the set follows that same perfect rhythm. “Magnify” might be an epic, but it still bows down to the incredible psychedelic jam of “Smouldering,” where the band absolutely shine.
“A Deeper Cut” broods and builds to close the main set, before they return for the encore. CCR’s “Have You Ever Seen The Rain” is the night’s only cover, and it provides a fine vehicle for guitarists Luke Potashnick and Paul Sayer. They’re even more to the fore on “Midnight Black” — perhaps the best song on that debut, and given due deference here.
The ending is a surprise. MV had been expecting “Serenity” — the song that always used to close their shows, and had ended all the reunion ones so far. Instead, it’s “Backwater Zoo” that brings the curtain down. And it’s what country sounds like in Glasgow.
“We know what this band means to you,” Campbell had said. But looking at their smiles, the five men in the band have clearly remembered what it means to them, too.
There ain’t no telling what’s next — but I’d be willing to bet that much bigger shows are on the horizon. And they’ll be brilliant when they happen.
It’s no exaggeration to say that The Temperance Movement are one of the very best British bands of the last decade.
They proved it here.
That’s why we needed them back.
