In a week where:
– Hue and Cry are supporting Matt Goss on tour, £55 quid per skull for the Xmas tour at the ABC1 this month, I was going to say that is a lot of bottles of Grolsch but are we not a bit dated with this one?
– Trump appoints “General Mad Dog” as Secretary of State for Defense” (sic), oh thank goodness for that…feeling very reassured…
So – this was a musically very promiscuous evening, and as you know readers BM likes a good dose of promiscuity so long as no one gets killed or ends up at the clinic… so here goes…
Missed the first band Swamp Born Assassins (damn you Scotrail/Abellio) but the place was pretty full when Fire Exit got going. To BM’s shame she has not set stilettoes or stacks in Audio before, shimmied past many times on way to/from The Arches (which lies empty tonight, a crying shame and a scandal, BM knows who to blame but let us not go there…)
Fire Exit have been going for a while, keeping the punk spirit alive, not sure what the history is but these guys have been around a few blocks and through some hedges, no disrespect mind, because they make a pleasingly raucous racket. A four piece joined by a guest vocalist/moothie player, they ramp it up an then some, BM was reminded of The Angelic Upstarts and The Clash via Ruts DC. Squalling guitar and pummeling drums with a bawling lead singer, clearly putting everything into it. ‘Trust In Me’ was great, the one about religion being the main cause of all wars was even better (with hilarious fancy dress stunt monk garb) and there were dedications to recently passed away people, and a very touching one to the singer’s woman “Morag”. Really sweet, no shut up you fuckers, it really was. These guys bleed sweat for their music and let’s face it are never going to sell out the Hydro but titting hellfire they give a good account of themselves so BM salutes Fire Exit, punk is not dead while this still happens!
Next on was the reason BM was here – TV Smith (see interview, such good and intelligent responses to a Ten With Betty, and thanks again TV). The erstwhile “leader” of The Adverts is now what BM can only describe as a 60 year old protest singer. There are not many of them left, as Elvis Costello commented back in 1986 (award yourselves an anally retentive gold star if you got that reference, BM intends that this review gets even darker, like Laughing Len recently did just before he got dead, as we go on, so if you just clicked on this for fun then fuck off – NOW!) – you have now been warned several times.
TV Smith is just shy of 61 and is still doing it, sneeringly Laahndon (he is from tha Big Smoke) and provoking with his battered acoustic, all over the UK and Europe, all of the time. These are anthems and personal songs, the new material rubbing along well with the well worn classics. He held the audience rapt, the ageing and frankly old guys and girls who have paid their dues over the years (no offence meant!) stood and just loved him.
This guy exudes, emanates charisma and character in a way that few do, and up close in a smallish venue he just nails every single song – and the banter, as well, can’t even remember the half of it but he must be a contender for the “Billy Bragg between song chat award” of this year – although he also at times just goes straight from finishing one song to diving into another, a real assault on all senses – amazing.
Early on we had The Adverts classic ‘No Time To Be 21’, which BM has to say chilled to the bone given recent events FFS – an evergreen song. TV just batters out this stuff, dressed in his traditional wife-beater and leggings, as most 60 year old guys do/don’t, actually!
‘Coming In To Land’, ‘Expensive Being Poor’ and ‘I Delete’ are all from the long solo era, and the most recent album is ‘I Delete’ from 2014, with lyric books also available online.
The only gripe is that (ok so we were never promised this) he could bring some more firepower (drums, bass, Tomahawk Cruise capability, haha, but he did not play that one, never mind) to boost the more angry songs, but he gave more than 100% on solo guitar and it is not the easiest thing to do either – so much respect due!
Highlights for BM were “The Lion and the Lamb” and the closing barrage of (oh my titting Christ) ‘Gary Gilmore’s Eyes’ (best punk era song era, maybe a contender…), ‘Bored Teenagers’ and ‘One Chord Wonders’ – from a “back in the day” that even BM is too young (ha) to remember, no really!
Also have to mention that Fire Exit’s lead singer MC-ed this whole event, respect due man.
And Esperanza, finishing off the night, were just infectiously great. A seven, maybe eight piece ska collective from Edinburgh who had been on BM’s radar but not seen live before – they just made everyone dance with their Specials/Beat influenced beats. Shouts outs especially to the lead singer and bass player but equally to the brass sections and backline bass/drums, just perfect to end a somewhat emotional and varied night. Esperanza are taking oldish-influences into new years and should, with any luck, be heading up larger events in 2017 and beyond. Perfectly honed ska can make yer granny and everyone else in any building dance and BM found the leg muscles (a beast in high stacks) straining during the high tempo numbers. The last train to Clarksville, sorry Clarkston, sorry again Crossmyloof (or cross my legs) was found calling and had to Brexit just before the end around 11.10pm.
(damn you Scotrail/Abellio) – was this mentioned before?
A spectacularly crowded, but allegedly not illegally crowded train (thanks for that information but would it stand up in a court of law, see the ITM legal section…) finally dropped BM out in the frozen wastes and the final reflection – punk was never dead, just waiting for TV to come around again!