Wooden Shjips @ SWG3, Glasgow. Thursday 12 December 2013

There are a few gigs which for one reason or another I really look forward to and this was one of them. The reason is pretty immaterial (just never imaginged these dudes pitching up in my back yard!) and so once I found that they were stopping off in Glasgow on their European Tour I jumped at the chance to get tickets. I then found out that they were playing in another new venue to me - SWG3 (Studio, Warehouse, Glasgow). 

The building is located in a former Clydeside warehouse adjacent to the railway arches by the expressway at the end of Eastvale Place on the periphery of Glasgow's West End. Also know as the Studio Warehouse, it houses artists' studios, a gallery, a gig venue and a bar. The venue, whilst one flight up, resembles a concrete post war bunker and is brutalist in looks and hard edged in nature, showcasing as it does less 'main stream' acts and artists. Tonight was the turn of local band Helicon and San Francisco's Wooden Shjips, both cases in point. 

A feature of concert going these days is that the venues tend to be pretty well filled by the time the support comes on and this was to be no exception. Indeed, the 'hall' looked pretty full when Helicon, who had travelled all the way from East Kilbride on the outskirts of Glasgow, came on stage at about 20:00. The band, described as doom-mongering behemoths of Psychedelic Rock, set to work and almost blew us away in terms of volume at least. I was upfront on 'the rail' and the sound was, in Spinal Tap parlance, set to number eleven! I doubt that I have heard a louder band and obviously these things are impossible to compare, but I reckon that they easily beat my former loudest band - Nazareth from back in the early seventies in the old Apollo. Once my ears had adjusted to the assault I was able to get into the groove and really enjoyed the apocalyptic cosmic crescendo of swirling psychedelic soundscapes. 

The band, formed in earl 2009 by brothers John-Paul Hughes (lead guitar, vocals) and Gary Hughes (guitar, vocals), includes Laura O'Brien (keys, synth, violin, vocals), Gary Sharp (guitar), Martin MacVicar (drums) and Mark McLure (bass). They are fans of Brian Jonestown Massacre, as was evident from the guitar sticker and other influences include The Warlocks, Mogwai, The Doors,13th Floor Elevators, The Velvet Underground and NEU! to name a few. This was my introduction to Helicon and so I was unfamiliar with the set list added to which and in keeping with the dark, moodiness of the gig there was little 'chat' between songs. Also the lyrics were indecipherable and so I didn't catch any of the tracks by name, however, one song reminded me of Chelsea Girl by early Simple Minds, it turns out that it is called Seraph and is from the Mind Explosion EP. I also really enjoyed the trance inducing groove of  Suburban Decay.

The interactive explosion of guitar and keyboards was a delight to hear and the whole sound was held up by Martin MacVicar who played some wild and energetic drumming. At one point it looked like John-Paul (I think it was him) was attempting to file the fingers of his right hand down to the knuckle as he frantically strummed the strings to get just the right frenetic sound. I also liked the singing by Laura and Gary although as I said earlier the words were lost in the mix, however, the voices added a fine additional 'instrument' to the concoction. The band have an album called Suburban Decay available to listen to on line or download at http://heliconglasgow.bandcamp.com/album/suburban-decay and following the gig they are set to return to the recording studio to lay down some more track.

Check out the song Seraph here.....

Next up: Wooden Shjips (pronounced Ships). I first came across them around the time that they released their third album Dos back in 2009 and have enjoyed their brand of psychedelic musical workouts ever since. Their sound has been described as drone rock, experimental, minimalist, and "spacey psychedelic rock". They have been compared to Suicide, Guru Guru, Loop, The Velvet Underground and Soft Machine. As a 55 year old, it heartens me to know that my nephew (in his mid twenties) was 'wayyyyyyy jealous' to learn that, not only were the Wooden Shjips on tour, but that his 'aged uncle' was at one if their gigs! Woo woo!

So at around 21:00, as seems to be the custom in Scotland, the band strode onto the stage. Erik "Ripley" Johnson (guitar/vocals and who also plays in a side project: Moon Duo) took up a stage right location (viewed from our side), then moving over to the left of the stage ,Omar Ahsanuddin (drums) was next, Dusty Jermier (bass and looking rather like a latter-day Richard Drefuss) and finally Nash Whalen (organ). The band were assembled and we were ready to 'gie it laldy'!

Erik "Ripley" Johnson

Omar Ahsanuddin

From the outset there was some discordant 'noise' to go along with the psychedelic light show and this was to be a theme throughout the show. There was a rush of 'ambient noise' in the gaps separating the songs and little in the way of interaction between the band and audience, save from the odd "Thank you". However, this only served to enhance the experience for me as it left the emphasis on the 'groove'. I particularly enjoyed In The Roses which started out with a combined bass and drum, metronomic beat, pulsating through us and after some muffled vocals, was taken to a new level by Nash's keyboards. Then Ripley set off on some exceedingly finely picked guitar notes soloed into the latter half of the song. By now it was (for me at least) not possible to stop 'ma groove', the song rolled out over some five minutes and took us all to somewhere other than Glasgow on a dreach, dreary Thursday night. Superb stuff! I have to say that I reckon that it takes an extremely special kinda concentration to hammer out those same drum riffs and bass cords over that length of time. A heart beatin', live givin', body movin', spirit evokin', limb shakin', trance inducin', drug free high! The essence of music over the millennia, rock on Tommy! You got me and I ain't lettin' go!

Dusty Jermier

Another high point was Ruins, another song off their latest (and best in my opinion) album Back To Land. A drum punch and then we were off into familiar mind freeing territory. Ripley Johnson's low, muffled, dry vocals combining seamlessly with the groove being pounded out by the band. I have always been a 'sucker' for the low key, simple, Bert Weddon - esque guitar solo (possibly my all time favourite is the Clash's Mick Jones' solo half way through Police and Thieves on their début album) and Mr Johnson fired them off with aplomb and easy 'devil-may-care' panache!

Looking around me I saw folk 'zoned out' and 'trippin'', enjoying the inner space sensation that the music was unlocking. On stage the band were laying down magnificent rhythms and soundscapes and each was adding their own element to the overall mix. It was really a joy to experience and I was delighted to hear one of my personal favs from the band's repertoire, the sublime Down By The Sea a highlight from Dos. I was experiencing a difficult choice! Do I shut my eyes and 'go with the flow' or keep them open and take in the visual dimension of pix-elation /  swirling colours / fluid formations floating across the band.

Nash Whalen

Then, after a quick recess the band returned to play a one song encore and left the stage again to a resounding ovation which was was well earned and well deserved. These four guys have developed an incomparable sound which has evolved over the years to the stage were in 2013 they have reached a new high in the form of the album Back To Land. I felt that there was a discernible sway and mellowness in the folk in front of me as we quietly queued to descend the stairs to the street level below after the gig, as if we had been spell bound and mesmerised by a deep inner force triggered by the fantastic fluid sounds we had just witnessed, which indeed, and in truth, we had. Just another night out in Glasgow, but, oh, what a night! 

Check out These Shadows here.....

Check out other photos I took at the gig here.....

Back To Land

The Waterboys @ The Barrowland, Glasgow. Tuesday 10 December 2013.

Ah, the famous Barrowland in Glasgow's East End! Whilst I first visited this venerable 'old lady' back in 1977 this was my first gig since I started my blog and I am surprised that it has taken almost a year to come around.

The original building on the site was opened in 1934 in the "Barras" street market area of Glasgow and it is from this that the former ballroom got its name. However, the building was largely destroyed by fire in 1958 (the year of my birth), leading to a complete rebuild and the new ballroom opened on Christmas Eve 1960. Perhaps it was most famous for a time as the place where the murderer 'Bible John' met his victims. However, fortunately, things have moved on.

Although it is modest in size (around 2,100 people) the Barrowlands has become a particular favourite of many noted rock/pop acts and it punches above its weight in attracting top-name performers. It has been voted the best music venue in the UK in a poll of British bands, and in another survey amongst bands, was voted second best venue in the world!

So on this mild December night I toddled along to see The Waterboys on their 25th anniversary tour of  their album Fisherman's Blues. Was it really released in 1988, has it really been 25 years?! 

Having got through the airport style security, a body search and two ticket checks I made it into the famous old hall with its curved ceiling and sprung floor. A sight to gladden many a music fans eyes and ears! Armed with a pint of 'Belhaven Best' (in a plastic container) I made my way to the front of the sparse crowd to catch the support act, one Freddie Stevenson, a thirty three year old from Edinburgh via England. Freddie came on to the stage at about 19:40 along with Joe Chester (a Richard O'Brien look-a-like who played lead guitar with the Waterboys between 2009 - 2011) and they performed a handful of Freddie's songs on acoustic guitars. As is often the case (I am ashamed to say) this was another support act with whom I was not acquainted. However, Freddie has 4 albums and an EP to his name and he played and sang in a clear distinct style. Also, again as is often the case and for reasons of economy, the sound one hears at the gig is very different to the recorded versions. That is not to say that the stripped down acoustic versions were in any way less than their 'full blown' album versions. Indeed, I really enjoyed Freddie's distinct voice which was clear and melodious. The lyrics were easy to hear which was a plus given that his songs are full of imagery and the melody was catchy. I particularly enjoyed I Cried When I Was Born, Sweet Revenge and The City Is King which he magnanimously dedicated to Glasgow. I would also like to mention the tone and quality of Joe's guitar playing which added a great deal to the overall sound.

Catch Freddie Stevenson singing I Cried When I Was Born here....

During the break we were treated to some 'karaoke' style music over the PA, by that I mean the music was played but not the vocal track and I detected Hank Williams, The Rolling Stones and some Ed Allyne Johnson, all fine stuff!

And so to the main event.............

Just after 21:00 Mike Scott lead out the current incarnation of the band in the form of  Steve Wickham (electric fiddle, vocals), Anthony Thistlethwaite (sax, mandolin, harmonica), Trevor Hutchinson (bass) and Ralph Salmins (drums). I knew that the 'Waterboys' were a fluid bunch and that over the years since their inception in 1983 there had been several line up changes. However, I was somewhat surprised to learn that over the intervening years there have been about 65 band members inducing some notable folk. For example: Joe Chester (as mentioned above); Guy Chambers (producer and co-author of Robbie Williams' Angels) played piano from 1985–86; Eddi Reader sang backing vocals in 1984; Ian McNabb (leader of Icicle Works) played keyboards & bass in 2001-02, and Sharon Shannon (Ireland's all-time best-selling traditional musician) played accordion & fiddle in 1989–90 & 2004.

The first song 'out the traps' was Strange Boat, written by Scott & Thistlethwaite (track three off the original Fisherman's Blues album) and this set the show on the road. Over the next eighteen songs we were to hear some wonderful old favourites played live by a bunch of extremely talented musicians. Mike Scott played guitar (both acoustic and electric) and also piano/organ and his singing was strong and so evocative of our, or at least my, youth! He was set between Steve Wickham and Anthony Thistlethwaite both of whom contributed greatly to the thrill of the evening on their respective instruments and their intensity and talent was a joy to behold. Indeed Steve's violin work is such a hallmark of the Waterboys sound from that era. At the back, as is often the case, we had Ralph Salmins and 'Ireland's most handsome man' (according to Scott) Trevor Hutchinson, who kept the beat moving along with an energy that belied their years!

Steve Wickham, Mike Scott and Anthony Thistlethwaite

Stand out songs for me were A Girl Called Johnny (great organ solo by Mr Scott); When Ye Go Away (superb mandolin solo); We Will Not Be Lovers (solid drumming); On My Way To Heaven (Scottish / Irish Gospel!);  The Whole Of The Moon (wonderful saxophone solo) and And A Bang On The Ear - all nine minutes of it!

"It started up in Fife and ended up in tears"

Steve Wickham

At one point Mike Scott, who was born and raised in Edinburgh, introduced a new song (for me anyway) called Tenderfootin' which he explained came out of the sessions which finally produced the original Fisherman's Blues album. He also pointed out that the song is included on the 6 CD box set called Fisherman's Box! A little later on the band played Be My Enemy which included a wonderful extended musical passage as each band member took up the theme and rocked out. It certainly loosened the audience up just before slowing things down a tad with a mellow version of Don't Bang The Drum from the This Is The Sea album during which Trevor Hutchinson and Ralph Salmins went back stage for a breather no doubt.

Then on about the hour mark, the band left us after a grand rendition of Fisherman's Blues and the audience went wild, the volume of adulation and encouragement to return was staggering and so the band returned to play a couple of songs before leaving again. This time the volume was ratcheted up several more notches. Up to eleven in This Is Spinal Tap parlance! Mike Scott seemed genuinely delighted to return for a second encore and he clearly has a love for the Barrowlands having played here on at least eight previous occasions (Anthony trumped him as he reckoned that he has played here somewhere between 30 & 40 times!). Having quietened us down he and Anthony Thistlethwaite commenced How Long Will I Love You? only to stop after a minute or so. Something wasn't quite as it ought to be and Mike Scott apologised saying that we should just pretend that we were all in a recording studio. Indeed, in a sense we were as he went on to explain that the show was being recorded to go out over the festive period on Radio Scotland.

And A Bang On The Ear

The rest of the band along with Freddie Stevenson & Joe Chester then returned to the stage and performed a wonderful nine minute version of the peerless And A Bang On The Ear. Then finally Mike Scott launched into a chant of Barowlands, Barrowlands, Barrowlands etc., etc. and we all joined in in celebration of another wonderful musical occasion in a fabulous venue. As we trooped out at about 22:30 I had a ringing sensation in my head which I realised was the result of a pleasant and much appreciated bang on the ear!

Farewell.....and Good Night.

Listen to the original Fisherman's Blues here.....

Here is a link to a few other photos I took on the night.....

Set List

21:00

Strange Boat
Higherbound
A Girl Called Johnny
When Ye Go Away
Girl From The North Country (Bob Dylan cover)
Tenderfootin'
When Will We Be Married?

The Raggle Taggle Gypsy
We Will Not Be Lovers
Be My Enemy
Don't Bang The Drum
Sweet Thing (Van Morrison cover)
On My Way To Heaven
Fisherman's Blues
22:00

Steve's Germanic Gig
The Whole Of The Moon
22:07

How Long Will I Love You?
Bang On The Ear 

22:30

Alabama 3 @ The O2 Academy, Glasgow. Friday 6th December, 2013

Woke up this morning......and found myself at the O2 Academy on Glasgow's Eglington Street on the city's south side at 19:00 waiting in a light drizzle to gain access to see the Alabama 3. Having arrived early and found a good spot to enjoy the show we were treated to a fine support act in the form of The Holy Ghosts, a band from the other side of the country - Edinburgh!

The Holy Ghosts played a relatively short set but were none the less enjoyable for that. Fronted by a Jagger/Mercury/Morrison-esque lead singer/acoustic guitarist in the shape of Jacky 'Tightlips' Sandison the band performed some great rock music. The other members are Jon 'Midnight' Mackenzie (electric guitar/vocals), Jonny 'JR' Voodoo Linstead (bass guitar/vocals), Rory 'Penny' Penman (drums) and Andy 'Whistling Whullie' Barbour (harmonica /keys/pedal steel guitar). I would say that their sound is reminiscent of the Stones and Chuck Berry/Little Richard rock n' roll in the style of George Thorogood, with a touch of Gram Parsons chucked into the mix- not a bad sound at all! Their Facebook page describes them as playing rock n' roll with a splash of country and a dash of the blues and given that they formed in January 2012, they have gelled exceptionally well and came over as extremely experienced and competent. I will certainly be looking out for their début album (to be released in early 2014) called Ride Them High. In the meantime, I will be listening to their two EP's: Devil On Your Side & Voodoo Shakedown which includes the song Don't Come A Knockin' On My Rock n' Roll Coffin - get outta here! Oh, and they name check Eddie Cochran too!

Check out The Holy Ghosts here.....

Whilst the roadies twiddled and tweaked 'stuff' on stage we were treated to some damn fine reggae and I particularly enjoyed Stand Up For Your Rights. Judging by the gyrating around me, others did too and there appeared to be no age restrictions! 

Then at 21:10 a kilted fellow strutted on to the stage and played the bagpipes before turning around and showing that he was indeed 'going commando' in the parlance of the day. As he headed off stage Alabama 3 arrived and worked their way into our souls with their unique blend of Country / Funk / Soul / Acid House Music all dripping with Presbyterian-ism. The story goes that the name Alabama 3 derives from a 1930's case in America involving two black men who were lynched after being accused of raping a white woman, the men were called the "Alabama 2" in the media. Our very own Alabama 3 formed in 1995 when Jake Black (who comes from the Possil area of Glasgow) met Robert Alun Spragg at an acid house party in Peckham and Jake decided that they "were going to be the first band to put Hank Williams on drum beats and acid cracks". So Larry Love (Rob Spragg) and the Reverend D. Wayne Love (Jake Black) became ministers in the First Presbyterian Church of Elvis the Divine and the band was formed. The band's web site includes several media quotes but the two I like best are The Guardian's "The best live band in the country" and NME's “A monumental waste of time”! I know which camp I stand in and it isn't a three letter abbreviation!

So for the next hour and ten minutes we were pounded and pulverised by pulsating beats and rhythms as the band played out their set. Indeed, about half way through Larry Love removed his top to reveal a T shirt which exalted us to "Drop Beats Not Bombs". Meanwhile, his 'brother' D. Wayne Love incanted his version of utopia, which included advising us not to get involved in Shoplifting 4 Jesus as he has been dead for two thousand years and that we should be vary of what folk on the streets feed our kids, i.e. sugar, liquorice and so on! All the while the rest of the band laid out some seriously funky grooves and some heavy Prodigy-esque tekno beats. We, the audience were mesmerised and danced along in fine style. This was to be a modern day 'religious' experience, the Reverend spoke his words of wisdom and the congregation stood, arms aloft and said "yeah" as and when the were moved to.

Meanwhile, Aurora Dawn was keeping things popping along nicely as she sang the counter parts to the 'Loving Brothers'! Her 'ying' to their 'yang' was a feature of the show for me. On the one hand we had D. Wayne speaking his parts and Larry singing along, whilst Aurora lifted the octaves and sang some mighty fine vocals. All the while she put in an exercise shift that would knacker many an athlete!

Further back, Owen If (Ian Frederick Rossiter) was great on drums, keeping a 'rock' steady beat whilst undertaking some nifty snare and bass drum work. All the while to his right, Wizard performed on a laptop and mixer desk (?) wearing a white Spanish Inquisition style mask! Indeed, I began to think of The Village People as each Alabama 3 member had their very own persona and stylised imagery thing going on ranging from Aurora's Grace Jones / Maizie Williams, through Larry's punk front man to Rock Freebase's (Mark Sams) ageing hippy country guitar star. Oh, and let's not forget D. Wayne's laid back, nonchalant 'man in black', possibly the most static dude in the house. How he stopped himself from breaking out 'a few moves' with all that rhythm flying around is a mystery to me!

The other band members all created a magnificent concoction of musical merriment and The Spirit of Love (Orlando Harrison) on keyboards was a joy to watch as he rocked his keyboard and organ in time to the music. At one point, having hefted the organ about from left to right and back again it ceased to perform which resulted in some frantic 'roadie action' to get it resuscitated. They managed just in the nick of time as, no sooner was it back up to speed, The Spirit started out on a fine piano solo. It's all about timing, or so they say! A quick name check for the other members of the Alabama 3: Steve Finnerty guitar; Harpo Strangelove (Nick Reynolds) harmonica, percussion, vocals and Segs (John Jennings) who would normally have been on bass guitar but was on tour with Ruts DC at the time. 

 

The stand out songs for me included a couple of slower numbers namely a wonderful version of John Prine's Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness and Hello...I'm Johnny Cash. However, I also really enjoyed the grooved up, trance inducing U Don't Danse To Tekno Anymore, Ain't Goin' To Goa, Hypo Full Of Love and Too Sick To Pray. And all of this was played out in front of a backdrop montage which resembled a latter-day stained glass window. Which was very befitting of the First Presbyterian Church of Elvis the Divine depicting as it did some everyday tableaux including the holy trinity of 'sex and drugs and rock n' roll'!

The band took a short break at about 22:20, the 'congregation' went into melt down and finally the two were briefly reunited as the band played a few final songs as an encore. This was rapturously received and built nicely from the solo singing of Larry Love to a full blown finale as the band members came back on stage in instalments to beef up and augment the sound and fury for the final couple of numbers. By now the audience/congregation were a grooving and a moving, a shimmying and a swaying and generally getting off on the unique sound that is an Alabama 3 gig. Thanks for a great show and I look forward to your next visit to our 'dear green place'!

Check out "Hello...I'm Johnny Cash" here.....