The Handsome Family @ the Arches, Glasgow 18 May 2013

Having seen the Handsome Family several times in the past I knew what to expect from this quirky, weird married couple and I mean that in a good way, their music has a kinda 'out where the buses don't go' strangeness about it. A true joy to behold if basic guitar, bass, banjo and limited drums accompanying the kind of lyrics that make you go "what, did they just sing that" is your kind of thing!

So Rennie and Brett Sparks took to the stage along with their drummer, who, because he wasn't introduced, shall remain nameless!

The 'nameless' drummer!

The band shambled onto the stage and took up their respective positions and Rennie laid down her bag, an object that resembled Mary Poppin's bag and later in the gig she was to ransack the bag to produce a torch to help Brett read his music, a la the aforementioned MP! From the start there was wonderful chaos as Rennie dropped one of the set list sheets and was rummaging around in her voluminous accessory when Brett chided her for being unprofessional and not being ready, she was to give as good as she got as the show progressed, indeed this is one of the features of their shows that I like. They don't take it seriously and take the piss out of each other in equal measure, this show was to be no different!

Rennie & Poppinesque bag

Once ready, the band took off through a few of their latest songs from their new album Wilderness which is only just out here and Brett joked that as we wouldn't know the songs we would just have to wait until they played some of their older stuff before we could sing along! However, from the audience reaction the new stuff was already being logged in the memory banks and taking its place in their oeuvre. Each of the tracks on the new album is named after an animal/insect and so we had Flies, Owls, Gulls and Woodpecker to name a few, and of course, in true Rennie fashion, these are not song just about animals, oh no! Woodpecker for example is all about the fascinating true tale of Mary Sweeney, who, in the 1890's, was known as the Wisconsin Window Smasher. The song takes the image of a woodpecker, pecking on trees to find what's inside, the way Mary Sweeney would break windows in her frenzy to discover what was behind the glass. As Rennie Sparks tells it "The gleam of glass whispers secrets that few can hear. Mary Sweeney was one of them. She was also a woodpecker." Fabulous!

We also got a few great songs from the back catalogue including So Much Wine, The Sad Milkman and A Beautiful Thing all garnered from their album of 2000 called In The Air and The Loneliness of Magnets  from 2009's Honey Moon album.

The humour shone trough the show and it bordered on the surreal when Brett, a large man it has to be observed, took over the childlike bass guitar that Reenie had been playing and was told that his doctor had instructed that he had to play it at least once a night!

Brett and the wee bass guitar

Brett's simple, single note guitar style solos aligned with his baritone voice and Rennie's studied bass and banjo playing combine to create an unusual sound which compliments the weird and wonderful lyrics that Rennie serves up, the new songs fit right in there with the bizarre, but fabulous music from their past.

The Handsome Family

There was a moment of genuine hilarity during the final song The Sad Milkman when the 'nameless drummer', who was accompanying the guitar and banjo using brushes rather than drum sticks, hit a strong, sharp, sonorous 'rim shot' and Rennie and Brett were both taken aback and could hardly complete the song for laughing. A joyous, humorous, bounteous night of entertainment came to an end with Rennie leaving stage right, whilst Brett exited stage left with pint in hand, different to the last!

Brett exiting stage left

Mark Knopfler & Band @ Glasgow SECC, 17 May 2013

We took our seats in the large hall in the SECC in the front, 'ground floor' section and could see the stage off in the distance and I thought 'what a crap, unforgiving, tin shed this is for a concert'. Roll on the opening of the Hydro!

Mark Knopfler

At 19:30 Mark Knopfler and the band took to the stage and at a quick count I could see eight of them including Mr Knopfler. They were to be joined during a few numbers by a ninth member to add saxophone as required. Initially, the sound lived up to my expectations i.e. it was dull, distant and leaden, however, as the night progressed I got used to it and whilst it could have been louder, as was shouted out often by one particularly disgruntled patron, it wasn't as bad as it can be at this venue.

Ian Thomas

The band kicked off with a number of songs from the latest album Privateering and one of my favourites Corned Beef City came up early and it started off with that trade mark Knopfler guitar sound. Talking of guitar sounds, there were at times four or five band members playing guitar so it was a fantastic 'guitar fest' for those of us who like that kind of thing. In addition to guitar there was piano, organ, accordion, drums, bass (electric and double), fiddle, clarinet, bouzouki, flute, whistles and uilleann pipes from what I can recall! Oh, I almost forgot, the saxophone! 

There were some fantastic extended musical workouts scattered throughout the show and I particularly enjoyed Telegraph Road from the Dire Straits 1982 album Love Over Gold, this was a good ten minutes long and allowed space for everyone to work their musical magic. Sublime!

In addition to Telegraph Road we were treated to Romeo & Juliet from Making Movies (1980) and So Far Away from Brothers in Arms (1985)

and the final song from the one encore was the fabulous Going Home from the film Local Hero (1983). By that time we had been treated to about two hours and fifteen minutes of Knopfler's back catalogue, only a dip in the ocean given that he has released some 22 or                        so albums to date! 

So on stage along with Mark Freuder Knopfler (63' born in Glasgow to an English mother and Hungarian father) were Ian Thomas (drums), Richard Bennett (guitars, bouzouki and tiple), Guy Fletcher (keyboards), John McCusker (fiddle, guitar and cittern), Mike McGoldrick (whistles, flute, clarinet and uilleann pipes), Jim Cox (piano and organ), Glenn Worf (upright and electric bass) and Nigel Hitchcock (saxophone). The one thing about seeing a well known, established artist is that you know that they will have a bunch of talented, professional musicians and this lot were up there with the best. It was also a help in that most, if not all these guys, performed on the Privateering album so they knew the songs!

At the end, when the band lined up to take their final bow, they seemed genuinely pleased and were back slapping, hand shaking and generally congratulating each other on a good nights work. I have to say that their reaction was well merited as I was thoroughly entertained, these larger concerts (possibly 10,000 folk there on the night although I don't think it was a sell out) can be very impersonal, sterile, disassociated and remote but I was able to really get into the 'groove' and enjoy the wonderful performance, both the sight and sound were mesmerising. The unique Knopfler guitar sound will remain with me for a long while..........!

Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell @ the Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, 15 May 2013

Two acts rolled into one, a great prospect in the offing and so it turned out to be. My introduction to Emmylou Harris was as a member of Gram Parsons' band The Fallen Angels and as a collaborator on his two solo albums and therefore it was a real thrill to hear the opening song The Return of the Grievous Angel which was followed by Chris Hillman & Gram's song Wheels. Knowing these song so well made it interesting to hear them live but with the male part being sung by Rodney Crowell rather than the late, great Mr Parsons added an extra dimension.

Emmylou & Rodney

Having got the inevitable tribute to her mentor out of the way, the next two hours plus were filled with Harris and Crowell compositions with the odd Kris Kristofferson song (Chase the Feeling), Patti Scialfa's (aka Mrs Springsteen) Spanish Dancer and Roger Miller's Invitation to the Blues. There were also a couple of Townes Van Zandt songs, including Pancho & Lefty, the late Susanna Clark's I'll be your San Antone Rose and a Louvin Brother's song thrown into the mix. We were also treated to, amongst others, Red Dirt Girl, Boulder to Birmingham and Still Learning How to Fly on which the wonderful band let loose with some fantastic solos. The first half was brought to an end with a rousing rendition of Luxury Liner, the title of Emmylou's 1977 album. 

The second half kicked off with a solo version of Emmylou's extremely touching and poignant Darlin' Kate, a song written about her good friend Kate McGarrigle (mother of Rufus & Martha Wainwright who died of cancer aged 63 in 2010). The band then returned to the stage and the show moved on through the gears ending with the final song Old Yellow Moon from the album of the same name by Harris & Cowell. 

Steve Fishell

Emmylou Harris (66) from Birmingham, Alabama, who has 12 Grammy Awards to her name, first met Rodney Crowell (62, born in Crosby, Texas) in 1975 and he subsequently became a member of her Hot Band for three years before making a name or himself. In addition, the band consisted of Jedd Hughes on electric guitar (a 31 year old from Quorn, Australia), Byron House on bass (a 51 year old who also played on Band of Joy with Robert Plant and hails from Bowling Green, Kentucky), Steve Fishell on pedal steel guitar (another former member of the Hot Band from Nashville), Chris Tuttle on piano (also from Nashville) and the self taught Jerry Roe on drums. Each and everyone of these guys was fantastic and it was a joy to see and hear such consummate professionals plying their trade with such evident fun. 

The Band

Just before the final song, during the encore, there was a moment when Emmylou whispered to Rodney and he was clearly not planning this but the band then sang one of his songs called Glasgow Girl which seemed pretty obvious but perhaps on tour it is easy to forget just where you are at any given time! Needless to say, the audience loved it especially hearing about the Glasgow girl with her "skin like milk, hair black silk, and eye's like cobalt pearl"!

A bigger gig than I have been to recently, but still a wonderful night out and we were thoroughly entertained by an extremely talented bunch of musicians. It was also noteworthy that the two 'stars' had a few cups of tea to sustain them through the show, changed days! 

Shovels & Rope @ Stereo Bar, Glasgow, 12 May 2013

Another day, another Glasgow pub basement and another gig, or should I say another excellent gig!

Shovels and Rope were supported by Futur Primitif which is the new project from singer/songwriter Daniel Lefkowitz who, on the night, performed solo on an electrified acoustic guitar which was wired up to provide a grunge sound. Normally an electric duo, Futur Primitif has an album out called Machineteeth which was recorded live with a full band. The following is from their Facebook page:

Daniel Lefkowitz

Machineteeth drifts through garage band rock and roll numbers, abandoning the persistent topic of love in exchange for an extended riff on the new, globalized American landscape. Described by an early critic as, "John Cougar Mellencamp meets Pavement," it's surely the most anticipated motorcycle accident since Bob Dylan.”

Unfortunately, Daniel didn't ‘float my boat’ and his songs didn't work for me as solo material, however, the album is a much better prospect and worth checking out (on Spotify if you don’t want to shell out for the full priced album). I like Digital Space, Machineteeth and the lengthy Kissinger’s Lips, all of which work so much better with the full work out.

Now for the main course! Shovels and Rope were just fabulous from the first bars of their opener Birmingham to their final number which they played as if it were an encore, stating that they would forego the usual nonsense of leaving the stage, waiting whilst we all clapped, whooped and hollered and then returning to the stage feigning ‘surprise’! I thought it was in keeping with their refreshing, down-to-earth approach to their trade.

So for those of you, like me, who don’t know much (if anything) about the band, Shovels & Rope are an American folk duo from the coastal town of Charleston, South Carolina and have been on the go since about 2010. The band is composed of husband and wife duo, Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst and on the night Cary looked every inch the southern belle in her red gingham dress, an inch of petty coat showing at the hem and calf length cowboy boots, whilst Michael turned up for his work dressed like a middle management office worker, suit and open necked shirt! Oh, and should anyone be looking for a couple of young look-a-likes for Bette Midler and our very own 'talking head' David Byrne (he was born in Dumbarton, Scotland) then look no further. I would go as far as to suggest that if their more famous doppelgangers were to form a band then Shovels and Rope might just be exactly what they would look and sound like!

Their sound is based on traditional country music/blues/folk rock/bluegrass, but given a twist in the unusual way it is delivered using the simple but very effective instrumentation. Their influences are rooted in the soulful, gritty sounds of Townes Van Zandt (Cary named her dog after him!), Elvis Costello, Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, and Loretta Lynn to name but a few and they perform soul filled harmonies in the style of Johnny Cash and June Carter. I was also put in mind of another great husband and wife duo, Buddy and Julie Miller. On the night they played much of their current album O’ be Joyful, stand out songs for me were Hail, Hail, Kemba’s got the Cabbage Moth Blues, Keeper and the title song O’ be Joyful. Added to the set list were a few songs from earlier albums including Boxcars and Gasoline from the 2008 album Shovels and Rope and Hell’s Bells from the 2011 album Lions and lambs.

Cary & Michael

Musically these two are a lesson in minimalism or at least DIY music. On stage there were a couple of guitars, a bass drum with a tambourine tied to it by two bandanas, a snare drum, umpteen drum sticks, a leather bound maracas, a couple of ‘mouthies’, a mini, mobile keyboard and a cymbal, which amusingly was at arm’s length from the drum ‘kit’! This allowed the pair to get up close and personal, as only lovers can, on the drum kit mic. In fact, the chemistry between Cary and Michael was a feature of the show, with the flirtatious and flamboyant Cary often looking longingly at the steady, studious, sweaty Michael. As an aside, I haven’t seen a performer perspire as profusely since I saw Norman Watt-Roy backing the wonderful Wilco Johnson earlier this year!

The show started with Michael on percussion, beating out a joyful rhythm on the drums with two inverted drum sticks in his left hand and the maracas in his right, whilst Cary was on electrified acoustic guitar. This was the ‘line up’ as seen on their American TV début on 30 January this year on the Late Show on which David Letterman suggested that Michael does all the hard work as a one man band whilst Cary sings and strums guitar! The truth is somewhat different as we were to find out as soon the two were swapping places and instruments on a regular basis and each was to prove as adept at guitar, keyboard and drums as each other.  The whole visual aspect of the gig was thoroughly entertaining and clearly Cary and Michael were having a great time and even when ‘calamity’ befell the bass drum and the foot mechanism fell apart they took it in their stride and played on regardless. At one point Cary regaled us with a ‘drummer’ joke whilst the roadies attended to the problem!

Michael Trent

On a couple of occasions the duo seemed a bit concerned that we, the audience, were not enjoying the show, I guess that they are not used to the reserved, constrained west coast ‘Presbyterianism’ that confronted them, however, by the end of the show they were well aware of just how much we all enjoyed the gig. Had they played out the usual ‘encore charade’ and had we been seated, there is no doubt that we would have given them a standing ovation and pulled at least two ‘encores’ out of the fabulous Shovels and Rope. I, for one, had a wonderful night, haste ye back!

Old Man Luedecke @ The Admiral Pub, Glasgow, 09 May 2013

Never heard of him? Well, that makes two of us (maybe three if someone else reads these ramblings!) I have to credit Kevin Morris (Fallen Angels Club) for bringing this artist to my attention, so first off, thanks Kevin!

The Admiral Pub seemed like an unlikely venue, however, as with much of Victorian Glasgow, the pub has a reasonable basement and it served the purpose well even if the place was set out like a spiritualist church meeting, the chairs were certainly as comfortable as any I have encountered in my time in church!

Quick mention of Al Shields, the support who currently resides in Edinburgh (he was born and raised on the Isle of Bute). Al, sporting a beard, a pork pie hat and clad in denim took to the stage, I say stage, but in truth it was a small platform raised above the rest of us by a mere 2 feet and is no doubt where the DJ resides when the venue is normally in use, and informed us that he was nervous as it had been a while since he had "taken to the boards", there had been an unexplained eight month hiatus (his word, so a man of letters!) and so we were asked to bear with him. A needless request in my opinion as it all went swimmingly from where I was in the front row, although Al did let us know that he had made a mess of a couple of songs, but c'est la vie, that's live music for ya!

On the night Al played solo on his electrified acoustic guitar and his songs were an interesting take on the lost love/broken heart genre. I thought If Love is a Fight, Had a Little Lovin',  I'll Keep on Crying and (perhaps my favourite) Home were all great and I liked his voice which is slightly above the mid range. His début album, from which the songs were taken is called Slow Burner and is a fuller sound as he is backed by his band on the CD and if you like this kinda thing, why not check out Al's side project Ardentjohn for good measure!

So to Old Man Luedecke. If you could be bothered to Google him you would find that "Old Man Luedecke is the recording name of Juno Award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter and banjo player, Chris Luedecke, of Chester, Nova Scotia". Oh, and he is only 37! Chris arrived on stage jauntily dressed in a colourful tammy, what resembled a school blazer, chinos, neatly polished shoes, and beard (what is it with facial hair and musicians?) quite the rock 'n roller! Actually, he looked more like an earnest accountant than a musician, but nothing wrong with that. He then proceeded to showcase his current album Tender is the Night using his six string banjo and an odd electronic wooden foot stomping contraption! It all made for a thoroughly enjoyable sound and he kept us well entertained with his quirky tales with which he regaled us between songs whilst constantly strumming or picking the banjo. 

I particularly liked the concept that he put forward that he pays a pittance to some sweat shop in China to churn out songs and he then discards most of them but picks a few to perform on tour, it made me think of the main stream 'music' industry closer to home as fronted by a certain Mr Cowell!

After about 40 minutes or so he turned to the back of the stage and swapped the banjo for a six string acoustic guitar which he introduced by saying that he wanted to relieve it from reflecting in its dull ubiquity! Then after two songs on the 'ubiquitous' guitar, which I for one found a refreshing change to the jaunty banjo, Chris swapped back and said you can get too much guitar! 

Chris' influences obviously include the likes of Pete Seeger, Paul Simon, Burl Ives, Marty Robbins, Hank Williams and John Prine and his interpretation of all these various styles makes his music pretty unique.

I really enjoyed hearing Jonah and the Whale, I'm Fine (I am, I am), Little Stream of Whiskey, A&W Song (very Hank Williams),  Long Suffering Jesus and my pick of the bunch This May Hurt a Bit played live and it was all-in-all a refreshing evening as it was stripped down and intimate, almost like a pal popping round to your place to sing a few songs! 

Chris Luedecke is a very entertaining young man with five albums to his name (to date) and his twin daughters will be very proud of their dad when they are old enough to realise just how much he cherishes them, he dedicated the final song to them and they both got a name check which was cool! 

Phosphorescent @ the Ruby Lounge, Manchester, 07 May 2013

First up was the local band Hawker Reunion, a 3 piece (drum, bass & guitar) who were booked at the last minute, much to their surprise, apparently! They performed a good, tight, short set and have an interesting sound, sung by the bass player with backing vocals from the guitarist. There were some good harmonies and the guitarist played some interesting solos.

Unfortunately, there were some technical difficulties and so this show wasn't a great introduction to the band, however, there are a few tracks available on YouTube & Spotify so, if you are of a mind you can check them out, I would suggest the mellow Don’t you ever care for me? or Taken down & timeless / Gweddi.

Phosphorescent took to the stage as a 6 piece for this gig, by that I mean that Phosphorescent is the vehicle that Matthew Houck (a native of Alabama who currently resides in Brooklyn, New York) uses to ply his trade as a singer / songwriter / guitarist with seven albums to his name so far.

The current album, Muchacho, formed the basis for this gig and the band was excellent with each band member adding in equal measure to the overall punchy, melodic, ethereal sound. I don’t recall seeing a band recently that used an electric piano and organ and the sound of these two instruments informed much of what was great about the concert. Jo Schornikow on the organ played some great bluesy rhythms to underpin the songs and Scott Stapleton on piano played with a furious, frenetic, and fabulously frenzied style that was a joy to behold. His intent staring across the stage at Jo must have been pretty un-nerving the first time she found herself on its receiving end! These two ‘book ends’ either side of front man Houck were a fascinating counter point during the show; on the one hand there was the steady, staid, sexy, serene Jo on organ and on the other there was the pumped up, preening, powerful Scott (wearing a bizarrely one sleeved T Shirt!).

Set back from the front line was Jeffrey Bailey on bass, David Torch on percussion and Chris Marine on drums, all of whom added in equal measure to the band’s rich pounding, pumping bass sound. However, special mention should be made of the prodigiously bearded Mr Marine’s fabulous, fearsome, fluent drumming which was especially powerful on the excellent, lengthy final band number The Quotidian Beasts. I just wanted this one to go on all night and watching the powerhouse drumming put me in mind of “Animal” from the Muppets! As an aside, all male band members were bearded, just an observation!

Then of course we had the dishevelled, worn out looking Mr Houck who was wearing a great old pair of busted brown boots, I got the feeling they have been through a great deal with him! His guitar playing was top notch and his singing is pretty unique (a much over used word, but appropriate in this case). His voice, which has often been compared to Richard Manuel of the Band, is soulful, world weary, tired and ‘broken’ and he delivers his words with a real depth of feeling and emotion. He appears to be a man with a troubled past and he spent much of the night singing with his eyes closed whilst gesticulating with his right hand, forefinger pointed at some unseen object of his thoughts.

Stand out tracks, for me, were the ‘single’ from Muchacho Song for Zula, (which has an unexpectedly upbeat and mesmeric reverb bass line and snare drum back beat) Los Angeles, A picture of our torn up praise, Ride on / Right On, Wolves (which was sung solo and ended on a looped out crescendo of guitar and vocal) and the aforementioned The Quotidian Beasts.

One small quibble, and after such a great show it almost seems too fussy, but the band played for a little over 50 minutes and then Matthew returned for a 2 song encore on which he was joined by Jo on the last number, Waylon Jennings’ Storms Never Last. It left me feeling a little ‘short changed’ but then maybe the glow of Phosphorescent had all but burnt out by then!

If Phosphorescent is new to you, then I recommend that you check out the current album and listen to the wonderful voice of Matthew Houck, and if that grabs you, then this is definitely a band that gets better when seen live.

“Some say love is a burning thing, that it makes a fiery ring, Oh but I know love as a fading thing, just as fickle as a feather in a stream”...................

The Wynntown Marshals and Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express @ Oran Mor, Glasgow, 01 May 2013

The support act, The Wynntown Marshals took to the stage at around 20:00 and played a tight, rocking set for the next 40 minutes or so. This five piece on the night (Lead guitar – Iain Sloan/acoustic guitar & lead vocals – Keith Benzie/bass guitar – Murdoch MacLeod/drums – Kenny McCabe/keyboards – Richie Noble) sound for all the world as if they hail from America, the band name and the country rock musical style lend weight to that thought, however, they were formed in 2007 and come from much closer to ‘home’, a short drive across the M8 – Edinburgh!

The set on the night showcased the new album The Long Haul which is due for mainstream release on 15 July 2013 and, as someone with extremely limited knowledge of the band (I had heard Ballad of Jayne on Spotify!), I found the show exhilarating, exciting, energising, euphoric (too many E’s?!) and downright wonderful. The songs that stood out for me included Canada, Low Country Comedown and The Submariner, however, all the numbers were good and the lead guitar and keyboards filled out the sound to great effect with some fine solos, whilst Keith Benzie has a sound not unlike Brian Fallon of the Gaslight Anthem. The 'bottom end' of the band's sound is provided by a tight drum and bass combo and I couldn't help but think of the Scottish actor James Cosmo whenever I looked at Murdoch MacLeod on bass!

The Wynntown Marshals

I highly recommend you get along to the next visit to Glasgow by The Wynntown Marshals which is on Fri 12 July in Broadcast (427 Sauchiehall St), you won’t be disappointed if great country rock music (played by a band whose influences appear to be Wilco, Tom Petty, The Felsons, Whiskeytown, and Neil Young to name a few) is your kinda thang!

Chuck Prophet

So next up was the wonderful Chuck Prophet and Mission Express, another five piece but this time they really are American! Chuck is a former member of the allt.country band Green on Red circa 1980's and he has steadily been gaining a cult following both in the US and the UK and is a regular visitor to these shores. 

Perhaps somewhat unusually, there was no new album to promote and therefore much of the music came from the current album, last year's excellent Temple Beautiful, although there were a few new songs in the mix, most notably Doubter out of Jesus which apparently isn't Chuck's mum's favourite song of his, however, I liked it!

The set up consisted of Stephanie Finch (Mrs Prophet) on keyboards and the youthful James DePrato on electric guitars up front with the energetic Mr Prophet stationed in the middle, the result of this line up was a fabulous show of nimble finger work by both guitarists on their many, varied and wonderful solos. 

Stephanie Finch & Chuck Prophet

At the back of the stage we had Kevin White (bass guitar) and Vicente Rodriguez (drums) both of whom had donned bowler style hats for the night which had the extremely disconcerting effect in the case of Mr Rodriguez of making him look almost the spitting image of Freddie 'Parrot face' Davies, or was it just me?! That aside, the two pounded out a rock solid rhythm to underpin all the songs and at one point whilst Chuck stood back we were treated to a lead vocal and acoustic guitar by Stephanie Finch accompanied by Chuck on the chorus. We were also encouraged to join in as an audience on several numbers including Temple Beautiful, You Did (Bomp Shooby Dooby Bomp) and White Night, Big City. 

James DePrado

I would like to make special mention of James DePrado's guitar work which was never less than great and often sublime, it was a real treat to see and hear the interplay between him and Chuck, and it was a highlight of the show for me. So all in all a fabulous night out which could only have been improved if we had been treated to a personal fav of mine Let Freedom Ring!

James DePrado

Finally, a big thank you to Kevin Morris and the Fallen Angels Club for putting together such a wonderful set. Cheers.

Ian Siegal @ Nice 'n Sleazy, Glasgow, 28 April 2013

Ian Siegal, a 42 year old English blues singer and guitarist, took to the stage, solo, last night and kept us entertained for about 75 mins, however, before we get to that, lets have a quick word about the Glasgow support band. A five piece wonderfully called Dirty Diamond & the gun slinger  With a name like that I was hoping for something great and we got it! 

The band play an up-tempo bluesy rock-a-billy style and all songs were self penned, with 'Ol Clyde River being one that stuck with me. They have an EP on Spotify and I would urge you to check them out, any band fronted by a latter-day Clark Gable look-alike has to be worth looking up, no?

So, to the main event. Ian Siegal (nee Berry) plays in the style of Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley and Howlin' Wolf and has a great voice, which surprised me as it is not so evident on his recorded work. It is deep and resonant and he used it to great effect, even sounding a tad Johnny Cash at one point. Indeed, his opening song would have you believe that he is an American country blues singer, his voice is so steeped in the sound and vernacular of the style!

Along with his own songs, Ian sang a Kris Kristofferson number, a chorus of an Elvis Costello song and he finished on a medley of Big George (Ross) Watt songs. It was a touching tribute to the big man (Big George and the Business) who sadly passed away on 2 April this year aged 54.

Swapping between two amplified acoustic guitars (one a dobro) Ian kept the evening moving along with many amusing anecdotes between songs of his life in the business and his love of the job he does. A fine night out and a home grown talent worth catching up with if you like this sort of thing.

One minor gripe, never been to Nice 'n Sleazy as a venue before and it looked promising as a small, intimate basement with room for all of those who attended (possible 50 odd in total) to sit comfortably and see the action. However, when Mr Siegal took to the stage, about 10 arseholes felt that they were more important than the rest of us and stood at the front, blocking almost everyone's view. Ho hum....!

Southern Tenant Folk Union @ the Paisley Arts Centre, 17 March 2013

Arriving 15 minutes late to a gig is never a good idea, especially if you are sitting at the furthest end from the aisle in the front row! However, once seated we settled down to enjoy the show, and enjoy it we did. 

If you are unaware of STFU then here is the little I know about them: they are an Edinburgh based six piece (currently at least!). Musically they comprise a double bass, a fiddle, a banjo, a mandolin and two acoustic guitars. The band was formed by Pat McGarvey in 2006 in London but then relocated to the Scottish capital in 2008. As for the name, well the band was named after a farmers' collective in Depression-era Arkansas.

That gives an idea of the sort of folk / rootsy style of music they play, oh, and they throw in some Sci-fi lyrics for good measure as well! All-in-all, a wonderful 'union' of Celtic & American influences.

The real stand out quality on the night was the wonderful harmonies produced by McGarvey (5 string banjo), Rory Butler (acoustic guitar) and Chris Purcell (acoustic guitar) and it was a joy to watch the 5 musicians choreographing their moves to sashay up to the single mike for their solos. The sixth band member, Alex Hunter stayed back stage with his double bass. Danny Hart, on mandolin, was particularly entertaining as he is of short stature and as the mike was set for optimum height he had to tip toe to get the mandolin solos  heard! Danny Hart and the pony tailed, fiddle player, Dirk Ronnenburg, also added fine backing vocals.

There was a novel twist in the traditional 'and here is the band' moment when Pat McGarvey swithered and finally chose a random band member to introduce, who then in turn chose another band member to introduce and so on giving us a greater insight into how well the guys knew and liked each other!

The songs were a mixture of their back catalogue and their latest album Hello Cold Goodbye Sun (which was recorded live in a circle of microphones by Tim Matthew, Lau's sound engineer) and were a wonderfully eccentric mix of folk, traditional, blues and roots music. Added to which this was all played out by guys in suits!

The climax of the show, which incidentally, was very intimate as the Paisley Arts Centre is a small venue (akin to the Tron in Glasgow) saw the band move off mike and stand in front of us, the audience, and perform the last few numbers truly acoustically. After some debate it was decided that each band member would move up the central aisle a few steps and perform their solo which even Alex Hunter managed with his double bass and this touch added to the intimacy of the whole 'affair'. 

A great night out listening to a very talented bunch of musicians who give a new twist to the kind of stuff that Mumford and Sons churn out! If you know and like the Wiyos, then you will love this mob live! A word of warning, their live sound was quite removed from that on their latest album, but it is all good.

Status Quo Glasgow Carling Academy, 10 March 2013

Status Quo, the original 1967 line up took to the stage at about 20 minutes to nine in front of an enthusiastic audience in a packed out auditorium. Over the next hour and a half they 'ran' through many of their back catalogue. I say 'ran' but in truth it was more of a ramble, with Francis Rossi regularly having to check his set list to see what was up next! Forgetfulness comes to us all it seems, even the mighty Quo!

Rick Parfitt (64) on rhythm guitar looked unfamiliar to me as his hair is now cut short, next to him, in the middle of the stage, was Francis Rossi (63) on lead guitar, likewise sporting an older man's haircut. Moving across the stage, we then had Alan Lancaster (64) bassist & founder member along with Mr Rossi, and keeping with the 'hair theme', was the only one with a retro hair do, a full blown perm job by the looks of it! Then finally, in the traditional drummer's position was John Coghlan (67), he of a Glasgow-born father and a London born half-French mother. What of his hair, I hear you ask! Well it was in keeping with most of the band i.e. cut short!

As for the actual gig, the sounds was good and the bass and drums were extremely 'punchy', bone crushingly so which made you feel the music as well as hear it. Rossi and Parfitt were slick and professional although the trade mark head banging standing side-by-side stance was only pulled out on a few occasions. A musical highlight for me was "In my chair" a 1970 song which I have in my singles collection (B side: Gerdundula) and this had me rocking along with several others in the crowd. We were also treated to Chuck Berry's "Johnny B Goode" at one point, however, having heard it the night before at the Wilko Johnson gig, I felt the Quo version was a be flat and formulaic.

As the concert passed by I began to feel that the band just weren't getting to me and I noticed that about 30% of the folk I could see were standing still just watching the band, rather than getting into the music. It reminded me of being at a classical concert where the audience respectfully listen and clap their approval at the end of the song. Had these people all been as old as the band then one might think that their dancing / shimmying days were over, however, most of them were at least half the age of Quo! I also wondered why a band with over 60 UK chart hits, more than any other rock group, of which 22 reached the UK Top Ten, were playing two nights in a 2,500 capacity hall, but maybe they like the smaller venues these days, who can say.

All-in-all the sounds was good (base/drum excellent), the band were tight and the songs flowed by in a flurry of half forgotten memories, however, I left felling 'flat'. The band worked hard but, for me, they just didn't get above being just a bit more than ordinary. Oh well, at least I can say that I finally saw the original Status Quo, but before I finish, I want mention the wee guy in his new Quo tour t shirt, possibly 12/13 years old, who stood in front of his (rather bored looking) dad who played along on his air guitar to every single song, and by the look of his fingers he was on lead guitar! At least someone had a brilliant night and good for him!

Wilko Johnson @ Glasgow O2 Academy, 09 March 2013

Cards on the table, OK? Probably, like me, you know that Wilko Johnson used to play guitar in Dr Feelgood back in the 70's. Maybe some of you know that after he left the band he spent some time in the Blockheads, of Ian Dury fame before forming the Wilko Johnson Band. Well that was the sum total of my knowledge until the gig!

In preparation for the concert, to which a good friend of mine had invited me, I dug out my old Dr Feelgood albums, Sneakin' Suspicion and Malpractice to be precise and then checked out several of his more recent albums so that I would be 'au fait' with what I was likely to hear. 

The concert began with Red Hot Rocking Blues, the opener on his 2005 album  and I was hooked! I was totally unprepared for how animated Mr Johnson was, strutting around the stage a la Chuck Berry with his signature black and red Fender Telecaster which he not only played fantastically but used to great comical effect, at times pretending it was a machine gun and at others, the love of his life. I have never seen anyone caress and massage a guitar quite so erotically as Wilko did! 

The songs came thick and fast, with no introduction, delivered as if he was a man on a mission to play as many songs as he could, which given his terminal pancreatic cancer, is probably just the point.

The band consisted of three guys. Wilko (65) on lead guitar, Norman Watt-Roy (62), former Blockheads bass player and Dylan Howe (43), eldest son of Steve Howe of Yes and also a former Blockheads member, on drums. 

Apart from Wilko's wonderful guitar playing, which I really didn't expect to be so good having heard him on record, but he came alive and played magnificently, also, we were treated to some of the best bass playing I am ever likely to hear. Yes, Norman Watt-Roy was dripping sweat within three songs and playing his bass as if it were a lead guitar. Added to the mix was the real solid, punchy sound of young Dylan on drums. He kept a tight rhythm through out and pumped the songs along with metronomic effect! Between the drum and bass I don't think we could have asked for more 'punch' and they laid down a great foundation on which Wilko built the songs, layer by layer, rift by rift and solo by solo.

The gig started at 20:30 and the band finally left the stage after two encores at 22:00 by which time we had been treated to some wonderful Wilko compositions, one or two Dr Feelgood songs and several covers, most notably Johnny Be Goode during which Wilko rather touchingly waved goodbye to the audience during the line "bye bye Johnny". I will recall this concert for years to come and was glad I got to see Mr John Peter Wilkinson in such fine form and rude health.

John Prine @ Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Wednesday February 20th 2013

John Prine, Jason Wilber and Dave "Double Duty Daddy" Jacques ambled on to the stage last night at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall half an hour later than advertised. The cause of the delay wasn't explained although John Prine said it was his fault, however, he hoped that they would make it up to us and boy, did they make it up to us!

The guys were all dressed in suits and ties, Dave wore a slightly shiny light grey number with even shinier black shoes, whilst both John and Jason doned black suits. They looked like three ordinary guys going to their work, which of course is exactly what they were doing! 

John Prine, (66) looking like a well fed, benign grandad, took centre stage and then took control of the audience. His voice, now deep and gravelly, made it hard to make out the lyrics at first, however, as our ears grew accustomed to it's sound, the words became easier to decipher. And what words they are, just listen to She is my Everything as an example! His guitar playing was deft and controlled and he filled out the sound with some great playing whilst shuffling about the stage. 

The 'fancy' guitar work was left to Jason Wilber who played some fabulous solos. In addition, he played harmonica and mandolin with equal aplomb. His guitar playing was a real feature tonight and it was great to see the older John Prine step aside to let the younger man loose on most of the guitar parts. Jason's playing on the quieter numbers was a lesson on how to accompany a song without taking it over.

The sound was rounded out by Dave Jacques, double bass & electric bass, who keep the beat moving along with real power. With the lack of any percussion, drummer etc, Dave did extremely well to fill out the bottom end of the songs and his thumping bass lines underpinned all of the 'rockier' numbers. He added a sublime gentle touch to the more melodic songs and often played the double bass with a bow to add interest to the over all sound.

As for the songs, naturally having written so many, we were not going to hear all our individual favourites. However, many were there including Hello in There, Grampa Was a Carpenter, Souvenirs, Angel from Montgomery, The Sins of Memphisto, Donald and Lydia, The Late John Garfield Blues, to name a few. For me, there were two stand out songs. Firstly, and this was a 'bucket list' item ticked off personally, Sam Stone, which began as a solo performance by John Prine and finished off with guitar and bass joining in to jack the sound up magnificently. Then there was the fabulous Lake Marie which was the concert closer. Often when performed live, this is a 8 to 9 minute offering and tonight was no exception with the three guys trading solos and vying to be heard over each other, this made for a great end to the night. Actually, the 'boys' came back for a single encore, but in comparison it felt flat and almost superfluous! We had already been treated to some superb music and the standing ovation said just how much the audience had enjoyed themselves. A great night was enjoyed by one and all during the pulsating 2 hour + show.