The Sonics @ The Arches, Glasgow, 9 May

Tonight is The Sonics’ first ever visit to Scotland, a mere 50 years after the release of debut single The Witch. Granted, they’ve spent most of the intervening period on ice, with the band’s classic line-up parting company at the tail end of the sixties and the reformation train only starting up in 2007.

Nonetheless, half a century is a significant build-up – one that’s very visibly underscored tonight by two contrasting images of the band: the iconic young turks gracing posters and merchandise and the silvered, avuncular elders assembled onstage.

But if rock n roll is a young man’s game, the memo thankfully never reached Tacoma, Washington. Three of the personnel responsible for stone-cold classics Here are the Sonics and Boom are present tonight: there’s Rob Lind alternating between saxophone and harmonica, guitarist Larry Parypa generating electrifying riffs, and, centre-stage, vocalist Gerry Roslie.

While the latter’s delivery is less threateningly wild these days, his voice remains surprisingly powerful – particularly when Psycho makes its pre-encore appearance. Sharing the vocal load elsewhere in the set is puckish bassist Freddie Dennis (a veteran of The Kingsmen, amongst others, and a Sonic since 2009), whose unassuming stature houses a startlingly raw howl that’s used to great effect at a number of junctures.

Alongside revered originals (the ever-menacing Strychnine, Shot Down and its machine gun drums, a revved-up Boss Hoss) and trademark supercharged standards (Money, Have Love Will Travel, Keep A Knockin’), there’s even a scattering of brand new songs, set to appear on a forthcoming fourth album. The new material slips comfortably into the fold – the sound of a band no longer blazing a trail but justly reaping the rewards.