My love for the Creeping Bent organisation will never end.
With FRETS they’ve struck on a winning formula.
Take some well loved artists and have them perform acoustically in a unique and intimate environment.
And that winning formula is especially true with this line up.
Monica Queen. James Grant. Norman Blake. Bernard Butler.
Talk about the soundtrack to a generation.
These guys genuinely are.
The first night in St Luke’s sold out and by all accounts was a triumph. This second night in the beautiful surroundings of the Mackintosh Church was added later to meet the demand.
The Blake, Butler & Grant ‘Church’ tour as it seems to have been named.
Although all night James Grant questioned the order of the billing.
Only two nights in and they’ve already turned into Emerson Lake and Palmer.
Monica Queen was on first. This creates a nice piece of symmetry for me.
My second last gig before music was outlawed was seeing her perform Tenement and Temple in Kelvingrove. Now second gig back for me and here they are again.
Again flanked by Rory McGregor and Johnny Smillie on bass and lead acoustic respectively. And even managing to drag Douglas from Creeping Bent onto the stage.
This time performing a mixture of new and older songs. With some great solos by Smillie and great intros from Monica.
Grant, Blake and Butler played a song each from in that order. All three singing lead or backing vocals.
Each introduced with a little anecdote. James telling us that he and Norman had been educating a sceptical Butler about Doocots.
It’s true, Bernard!
Norman looking his own songs up on the internet causing him to doubt that he’d been singing the lyrics wrong all this time.
Bernard labelling the next song as the drunken party sing along version of ‘Yes’ and giving a health warning against attempting David McAlmont’s high notes.
Sounding wonderful in the church acoustics.
The three voices also change some of the songs.
In James Grant’s songs they’re replacing Monica Queen singing backing vocals.
Bernard Butler’s work didn’t originally have other voices or harmonies on them.
Probably only the Teenage Fanclub songs seemed less changed. Harmonies and backing vocals was always part of their sound.
”You lucky people. This gig is much better than last night” Grant said before Blake shot him down with “so far…”
But he’s right.
We are lucky.
This was special.