AS a Big Country veteran and having seen the boys about a dozen times, this was one of the best gigs I've seen them play - with or without Stuart Adamson at the helm.

This latest tour celebrates the 30th anniversary of The Crossing - their much-lauded debut album.

But instead of kicking the gig off with the first track, In A Big Country, they opted to start with some of their B-sides from the era - tracks of such a high quality that the band must have agonised about leaving them off the album.

Most were tracks I'd never heard live before, such as The Crossing. The latter never made the album despite its title.

A raucous rendition of Balcony was followed by Restless Natives - a song I've not heard since my first Big Country gig in the early 1990s.

Both were perfect. The cheers from the crowd were more akin to those after a vital cup final winner than a song at a concert.

And then into The Crossing proper, playing the album from start to finish.

Fields Of Fire, Chance and In A Big Country were, needless to say, amazing but I'll always remember The Storm and singer Mike Peters spitting "rain" from his water bottle over the mosh pit as lightning crashed on screens at the back of the stage.

Porrohman, too, was exceptional, with the frontman using the rear of his guitar to bounce a spotlight on to the crowd.

And Lost Patrol began with the lyrics read, as if in a poetry recital, ending with heavy metal guitars.

Bruce Watson, resplendent in a Union Flag jacket, was awesome all night, full of raw passion and smiling like a Cheshire cat as he blasted out riffs from the decades-old songs not dusted off in such a long time - like meeting old friends.

The encore started with Smokey Robinson's Tracks Of My Tears - also a Big Country B-side back in the day.

"This is Stuart Adamson's favourite song," said Mike and, referring to his tragic suicide in 2001, "It says a lot about him."

They finished with Wonderland and, if you looked closely, you could see the eyes of Stuart in those of Mike - and you fancied there was more to it than the same almost-triangular shape; something spiritual.

"There aren't five us here in this band," said bassist Tony Butler, pointing to the skies. "There are six."

Amen to that. Big Country have had their ups and downs but they've been reborn in the past couple of years and played this gig with renewed vigour. As  Stuart used to say at the end of each gig, "stay alive".