Someone, somewhere out there, is grinding their hips like never before. Lit up in shadows and dark dusky blues, Barry Adamson comes on, suited-up for action, with more than enough of a card-sharp backing band to headline an off-the-beaten-track backstreet jazz venue in Vegas (baby!). A quick CV if you don’t know Barry. He’s the man from Magazine (check out all their albums), a former Bad Seed who played on Nick Cave’s first four albums (whom he’s supporting tonight) and there’s plenty of film scores under his belt, including a nod from David Lynch. Barry’s probably already in your record collection. If you haven’t noticed, go rectify because every household should at least own a copy of Oedipus Schmoedipus from 1996, featuring a cinema-as-sound cast that includes Jarvis Cocker, Nick Cave, and the late Billy Mackenzie.
Promoting his new album, Back To The Cat, which is nothing short of fantastic, it doesn’t take long for the mood to go from cool nod twitch to sulty swing. The big band vibes bounce of the crowd as ‘Spend A Little Time’ transports the 2500 capacity of the Academy to a plush lounge where everything but the band moves in sensuous slow motion. ‘Jazz Devil’ rears its head and horns, but unlike the subtle recorded version, this is loud with a back-itching laid-back shuffle. With ‘Straight Til’ Sunrise’ it’s pretty quickly apparent that people are having far too much fun for this to be a support act slot. For one night in May, on a Sunday night in Glasgow, Scotland got a serious hit of glamour that wouldn’t be out of place at a Burlesque show. It was dirty. It was sexy. It was seductive. The ladies love Barry. Like I said, someone, somewhere out there, is probably still grinding their hips like never before.
//Chay Woodman