Catching Massive Wagons tonight as the first gig of the year is a great way to set the tone for 2026, especially when you consider they took to Warrington’s Parr Hall to play their seminal album, Full Nelson, in its entirety. Having last seen them at their history-making show at Lancaster University’s Great Hall for the recording of their debut live album, where they played all the belters (and then some), tonight is very different. The Lancastrians are here to celebrate the album which changed everything for them.
It may be Saturday night but it’s not stopping the fans from packing out the venue from the start. You have to love this scene – the dedication and love people have for it is unrivalled. Scarlet Rebels are opening the show tonight, a band who have been plugging away for a number of years, building their own cult following, and arguably, damn close to having their own Full Nelson moment. There’s some technical issues when they hit the stage and to cover it, they break out everyone’s least favourite element of a live show – a drum solo. Regardless, the crowd are forgiven and on the second attempt, they hit the ground running like they should have on the first. “Secret Drug” is one of the band’s best songs in their arsenal and as an opener, they couldn’t have picked better as the sea of heads bob along and drinks are raised. Needless to say, there’s a lot of people here for both bands.
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Songwriting has never been the band’s strong point, going for the basic but effective route; sophistication would actually muddy the waters. The Welsh quartet draw heavily from their most recent album, Where the Colours Meet, whilst their previous two albums each have a token song tonight. It’s a canny move given it’s their most mature and complex work, their twin guitar attack now has more of a deft touch, shaving off some of the grittiness, going more for the FM and Magnum avenue compared to their earlier works as well as working in hints of their fellow countrymen Manic Street Preachers with an eye on crossover appeal. Vocalist Wayne Doyle explains the story behind “It Was Beautiful”, dedicating it to a friend who had passed away with his funeral the day before. The moment hits Doyle hard but he ensures the last couple of songs hit harder in order to leave things on a high and ensure we’re ready for the headliners.
During the changeover, there’s a brief chat from Andy’s Man Club about their mission, the importance of mental health and talking. They’ve been working closely with the headliners for a couple of years now, so any reminder of their collaboration is a welcome one. With the stage set, “Sad Man’s Tongue” (remember when Volbeat were good?) and Slade’s “Rock and Roll Preacher” announce the arrival of the men of the hour (and a half) and the five of them take their places, one by one. Bristling with their trademark energy, Massive Wagons take Warrington’s Parr Hall by the scruff of the neck and force them into submission by the first chorus of “Under No Illusion”. Not that anyone needed any coercion. Indeed, it’s met with rampant enthusiasm which matches the five people onstage.
And after that opening track, Wagons hammer their way through Full Nelson. They crash headfirst through to “Northern Boy” and it’s a stark reminder of just how intense the album is, a lesson in no-nonsense hard rock with its classic sound. For a band that doesn’t really deal in ballads, when they bring it down a gear, it’s for good reason. “Back to the Stack” faithfully sits in at the halfway-ish point of the album and frontman Barry Mills is the first to address the elephant in the room – it’s weird to not open with it. He’s also keen to mention this was the album which changed everything for them and where they gained a lot of fans so it’s obviously a special album in their discography. But even when you look at it objectively, it’s an album full of belters so it’s no surprise so many of these tracks have become staples. Personally, it’s my favourite Wagons album so I didn’t need much convincing to leave the Midlands for this show.
There are also some rare airings of “Robot (Trust in Me)” and “Scorpion” – numbers they haven’t played since the album was first released. To include the bonus tracks of the latter and “Death or Glory” shows just how above and beyond Wagons are willing to go to pay tribute to their seminal album and do right by the fans. The aforementioned “Death or Glory” is introduced by explaining it was originally intended to be the opening track until someone at Earache Records talked them out of it. Hopefully, in the intervening years, said person has been sacked for this error. This has to count as gross misconduct, surely?
Tonight isn’t like when Slipknot played their debut album in full and called it a night. No, like 99% of every other band who play an album in full, they stick around and batter through a perfect selection of songs to finish the set. Ferocious recent single “Everywhere We Go” signals the start of the run, “Night Skies” ensures the emotion and sentiment from Andy’s Man Club isn’t just lip service, “Generation Prime”, “House of Noise” and “Bangin’ in Your Stereo” bring the set to an end. And if you had to pick just a handful, you’d be hard-pressed to pick a better selection which covers a broad spectrum of the band’s back catalogue.
Encores may be an outdated concept but when the band make their return, it’s done in style. Randy Newman’s “Leave Your Hat On” blares through the PA which means, if you’ve seen The Full Monty, you have a rough idea of what’s to come. The five of them mount the stage in their underwear, all decked out in the OK symbol and pose for photos for Andy’s Man Club before disappearing once more, only to return one final time for a couple of songs. And you know exactly which ones they are – “Ratio” and “In it Together” and unless this was a show where they intentionally didn’t play the big songs, these would have been massive omissions.
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As “Take Me Home, Country Roads” signals the real end of the night, no-one leaves the building without a smile on their face. It’s another thrilling evening from a band who never fail to deliver. You know what you’re getting when you go to a Massive Wagons show and that’s excactly why people keep coming back. As a one-off, it’s special, celebrating an album which has done so much for the band. They continue to be an absolute force of nature and spectacle, as engaging as a live band can be. Now, since they were last here two years ago for Welcome to the World in full, how about House of Noise in full in 2028?
Massive Wagons: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | spotify | youtube | patreon
Scarlet Rebels: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | youtube
