Want to feel old? Take a look around at the number of bands currently celebrating big milestones. Bis hit 30 along with The Yummy Fur and Lung Leg, while De Rosa, it turns out, just hit 20 – rather like tonight’s headliner.
But like most of those listed, Peter Kelly’s big milestone was rather less celebrated i.e. some of us didn’t know about it – well, not until showtime.
Despite being a fan of Peter Kelly since his days in indie band Pupkin – and as it happens, perhaps the second ever band I was involved in putting on – I wasn’t aware of his alter-ego’s big birthday. Instead, idly scrolling for a Friday night gig, I encountered this rather attractive proposition in Coatbridge.
Again, I’d vaguely been aware of shows at The Georgian Hotel, though not of the 50rpm Club running out of it. A clever idea – 50 patrons pay an annual fee and get entry to all the shows put on by its organiser Ian. There’s room, fortunately, for another 25 regular punters, and with just four tickets left on the night, I’m in. (Emphasising its status as a listening venue, the club’s commendable slogan, ‘Haud Yer Wheesht’, is emblazoned across the stage).
As I arrive, Kelly – easily recognisable as he doesn’t seem to have aged a bit in two decades – happens to be coming down the stairs from the function suite where he’ll entertain what is now a sell-out crowd. He informs me that he’ll be flying solo tonight – he regularly has Julia Doogan as backup musician / vocalist and she was supposed to be doubling up as tonight’s opening act, but as it happens she’s is unwell, so… well, no harm to this fine performer but we’re going to get a treat of two sets from Beerjacket.
As he takes the stage, the show, we’re informed by our chatty host, is a fundraiser of sorts – the ‘real’ 20th anniversary bash will be at Cottiers Theatre on November 14, and backed by the Cairn String Quartet – so this gig and the album of re-recorded early material will go towards putting on that rather grand affair.
And the unexpected first set offers us, we presume, a stripped-back version of some of the material that will be on ‘Hourglass’ – from opener ‘The Bar That Never Closes’, with which Kelly begins pretty much every show – through to ‘Please Be Kind’, it’s close to an hour of nostalgia – musically, and banter-wise – for those halcyon years of 2004-2009.
Kelly’s fingerstyle guitar is better than ever while he’s still in fine voice – although there’s one song where it’s clear his vocal range has adapted over the years and he cleverly adapts to allow for this. (Similarly, for the first encore he fulfils a request for a long-since forgotten track – literally, requiring addition of a “something something something”).
The second half takes in material from more recent albums – including ‘Cord’ from Darling Darkness’, the 2018’s book/album combo released by Scottish Fiction (label owner Neil Wilson is also here). That theme continues as ‘Hourglass’ has a fine cover designed by his daughter, the original artwork on display on the merch desk.
There’s also ‘Splinter’, a couple from ‘Silver Cords’… to be honest, I’m just happy to soak up the atmosphere, not taking any notes, though it’s not the best preparation for writing a review nearly a week later. However, it’s an anniversary that should be marked in some small way – though the main business of course takes place in a couple of months. Be there, you’ll not be disappointed.