It may not quite be the Irvine Harbour Arts Centre or The Bonnet in Stewarton where they made their first tentative steps, but for a band the size of Biffy Clyro the Barrowlands feels like an intimate setting to celebrate their first album Blackened Sky.
The Kilmarnock trio are playing the first of three sold-out shows, dubbed 'A Celebration of Beginnings', to celebrate their first three records, with The Vertigo of Bliss and Infinity Land to follow on Friday and Saturday.
It's an early start for the band - singer Simon Neil and twins Ben and James Johnston on drums and bass respectively - who launch straight into album opener 'Joy. Discovery. Invention'.
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A slow-building number, it sparks the first arms-in-the-air moment of the night as the scuzzy guitars kick in for its climax, and there's no letup for '27' and long-time fan favourite 'Justboy'.
As one might expect for a band that has been playing together for the best part of three decades Biffy are a tight live act, though the night doesn't go off without the occasional snafu.
Six songs in the twins, correctly, start 'Christopher's River' while Neil, shirtless and donning a leather kilt, thrashes out the opening to 'Convex, Concave'.
"Nice to see we don't remember the f*****g tracklist," quips the bassist. "It's only been out for 20 years."
Biffy earned their platinum-selling success the hard way, going from the smallest stage at T in the Park to headlining it in 2014, and have built a loyal following.
"It's nice to see so many familiar faces," Neil says as he gazes out over the crowd. "You mean a lot to us. This band means a lot to us."
The biggest singalong of the night so far greets '57', as the band blaze through their debut in around 45 minutes.
The trio briefly leave the stage before returning for the second half of the evening.
"I forgot how hot it is in here," James Johnston says.
"I forgot how hot you are," Neil replies, waggling his eyebrows.
What follows is a mix of new and old, with Blackened Sky b-side 'Hope for an Angel' getting an airing alongside crowd-pleasers like 'A Whole Child Ago' and 'Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies'.
If there's a dip in the atmosphere it comes with the one-two punch of more recent efforts 'The Pink Limit' and 'Witch's Cup' but when the band break into 'Bubbles' before the encore the roof nearly comes off the old venue.
Neil returns solo for an acoustic rendition of 'Break A Butterfly On A Wheel' before the night concludes with a triumphant run through 'Stingin' Belle'.
It's a long way from unlovable Ayrshire pubs, but as celebrations of beginnings go it's pretty spot on.
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