Looking around the crowd tonight everyone has a glow on their faces; it’s the glow of anticipation. For tonight is the first time the Silver Jews have ever played in Scotland. In fact tonight is only the 16th show the band has ever played in their 15-year career, allegedly. They are met with the kind of response you would expect David Bowie to garner; not David Berman, a man whose descent into drugs and subsequent overdose in the first half of this decade makes this occasion seem even more significant. The band play choice cuts from throughout their catalogue, opening with ‘`Random Rules’ from American Water, followed by ‘`Pet Politics’, ‘`Dallas’ and ‘`How To Rent A Room’ from 1996’s sublime album ‘`The Natural Bridge’, right through to new songs, ‘`How Can I Love You If You Wont Lie Down’ and ‘`Animal Shapes’. Berman accompanied by his wife, Cassie on bass and vocals, his nephew on guitar, one of his neighbours on 2nd guitar, a keyboard player that looks like Roy from Coronation Street and a drummer who may or may not be a relation of some sort combining to make a joyous sounding shambles. If you’re a fan of the Jews this probably won’t come as a surprise as you’ll know that it’s Berman’s wit and ultimately fantastic songs that make his band shine. True, he uses the same lacklustre, sluggish vocal approach to every single song, the same melodic tendencies and nuances throughout the whole set, yet it’s the stories in these songs that make each and everyone stand up on its own merit. As Berman proclaims he, ‘`loves us to the max’, in the set closer, ‘`Punks in the Beerlight’, the feeling is unquestionably mutual from this awestruck crowd.