GZA/Hector Bizerk @ The Arches, 13 February

The Arches is already near capacity, with a crowd in boisterous mood when Hector Bizerk take to the stage. It's the kind of environment where many support acts might struggle, but if Louie and Audrey, MC and drummer respectively, are nervous, tonight they certainly don't show it. The Glaswegian duo don't miss a line – or beat, opting for live drums – during their short set; Louie's rhymes, about fat cat bankers and general life in his home town, might be obvious topics but they contain a sly humour that's often missing in Scottish hip-hop.

The GZA is given a genuine heroes' welcome when he arrives – a mere 15 minutes late. There's no hype man or backing MC for the Genius, just a DJ and two turntables – all he needs to deliver a powerful set that contains a staggering number of hip-hop landmarks. His audience bellows every line from the title track of his understated rap classic Liquid Swords, later roaring their approval for the eerie calm and analytical rhymes of Shadowboxin'.

This might be a greatest hits set, but it's certainly no limp nostalgia fest. Everyone in attendance is either too pumped to dwell on the past or too young to have known these songs first time around. The GZA himself is looking similarly youthful, despite his 45 years, and projects a quiet confidence throughout the show, which blends well with the atmospheric production of much of his material. His clipped delivery never falters, even when making one of his frequent trips to the front row to pound fists.

The esteem in which the Wu-Tang Clan are held seems to increase with each passing year, as the reception given to Clan in da Front and Killa Beez shows. Wu material might still claim the biggest reaction, but tonight it lacks the quiet menace of songs like Cold World. The ubiquitous 'W' signs are still waved from the crowd at every opportunity: "Tonight that W represents three things," GZA says, "Whitney Houston, and the O.D.B." It's a big nod of respect from a legend of equal significance in the great pop cultural pantheon.