This was a benefit for Save the Children’s charity work in Syria. An impressive line-up (which also included “Jim and Charlie from Simple Minds”, to do a wee acoustic spot BM assumed, hopefully not ‘Belfast Child’), this gig was quite hastily arranged and was on a Monday night which may have explained the less than full venue. In fact having tight-fistedly gone for the cheapest tickets (in the gallery) we were pleasantly surprised to be told to go to the box-office for an “upgrade” to the circle.
Bit of a shame really as there were loads of empty seats up there, but given that everyone on the bill had played one or more Glasgow gigs this year maybe there was an element of overload, but anyway… it was a worthy cause and those who stayed away missed a big surprise…
The event was compered, somewhat inexplicably, by “comedienne” Josie Long, who is an ok comic I suppose but can’t help thinking there were loads of more obvious choices and a Monday night in November wasn’t really the time for her whimsical observations, sorry Josie!
First up were Young Fathers, giving us a shortened version of the ‘White People…’ set they have been touring for most of this year, and it is stunningly effective. The off-kilter sounds and beats, furious percussion courtesy of the extra touring drummer and the incredible three part singing, harmonies and solos make this a treat, again, they just get better. Few words were said but it was pretty obvious where YF’s opinions on the Syrian refugee crisis lie. I think they were doing the support for Paul Weller at the Hydro later in November (not sure how the Modfather die-hards would take to them) and they are booked for several big support slots next year including Massive Attack, so get used to seeing them in bigger venues. BM thought the Armadillo might take away some of the intense attack of the songs but if anything it makes them sound bigger and better.
Next up were Mogwai, another band who have had a good year, although eagle-eyed BM spotted immediately they had subbed guitarist John Cummings, followed a couple of weeks later with the news that he was leaving the band. A well-constructed set didn’t get too OTT with the feedback, no doubt to avoid complaints from sensitive B&S fans (!). Starting with ‘How To Be A Werewolf’, then ‘I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead’, ‘Cody’ got a relatively rare outing, then the more familiar ‘Hunted by a Freak’, and the chuntering polyrhythms of ‘Remurdered’, followed. ‘Friend of the Night’ ended things off – very good indeed.
Franz Ferdinand got probably the biggest welcome so far, fresh from their Sparks collaboration, in fact perhaps the first time in a while they have played as just FF. Although they have some great tracks and it’s a good show BM can’t quite help thinking that the sound is a bit lacklustre and perhaps the winning formula, spread now over four albums, is wearing a bit thin. While the couple of songs they played from album #3 sounded pretty good the couple from album 4 were a bit samey and it’s the first and second album songs the crowd are really there for – maybe time for a re-think, or more collaborations, FFS was pretty good.
But what happened to the Jim and Charlie acoustic spot, did they run out of time?
Well…
Next and last were Belle and Sebastian – and if you saw the following setlist, can you spot the odd ones out, readers?
‘Nobody’s Empire’, ‘I Didn’t See it Coming’, ‘Seeing other People’, ‘Sukie in the Graveyard’, Perfect Couples, ‘Stars of Track and Field’, ‘Judy & the Dream of Horses’… ‘Promised You A Miracle’, ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’…
So the new, improved B&S again trod the boards as they had at the Hydro earlier in the year. ‘Nobody’s Empire’ is probably a career high, or even a career summary, complete with filmic visuals etc. In fact the set was tilted a bit more towards older material, with the Stevie Jackson-fronted ‘Perfect Couples’ the only other current album track. Midway through the set Stuart Murdoch goaded the crowd about dancing and provoked a surge out of the seats in the stalls – the bouncers let this happen, presumably as the crowd hardly looked dangerous (!), this was a B&S gig after all. And then it came to pass that, somewhat unexpectedly, Jim and Charlie were brought on, looking very dapper, for a run through a couple of the Minds’ highlights. Charlie plugged in and started trading “licks” with Stevie Jackson while Jim started prowling the stage in messianic frontman mode (Murdoch wisely stuck to the piano and let them get on with it, avoiding any microphone-sharing moments). On paper it sounds like a highly unlikely collaboration but, in fact, it just about worked – SimBelle Minds, if you will.
The two songs they did are both ’80s classics, no doubt about it. It was at times mildly embarrassing (Kerr now seems to be singing in an mannered and enunciated Scottish accent, which renders some of the lyrics even more ridiculous than they were back in 19-canteen), but it certainly made for a memorable end to the night, and fair play to B&S for being so game.