The two aforementioned record labels both had their 10th anniversary this year and at some point their respective founders came up with a devilish plot to hold a joint event which showcased acts from both.
And so it was that BM turned up at Platform (Easterhouse, not what was The Arches and why confuse people with that renaming – just stupid) on a rather sunny early afternoon after a nice wee bus journey around Ruchazie and other places, then a walk from The Fort (other buses do come far closer).
The venue itself is great, with main auditorium and studio performance spaces and a great cafe/bar. There does however appear to be a reticence among the Glasgow gig-going crowd to make the journey but let’s just leave it at that – the last music/performance event here in the spring clashed with Record Store Day so BM actually hadn’t been to a gig here since before Covid (e.g. the one by Apostille in later 2018).
First up, in the main auditorium, (an amazing space, with no raised stage and a state of the art, well loud anyway, sound system) was Callum Easter (“in the house” – ok maybe not…) who emerged around 2.30pm munching an apple. Playing his accordion and fiddling with his homemade box of tricks (held together with god knows what), he had just his drummer in tow today and as usual he put a new spin on his usual set.
The “Elvis Presley meets Suicide” and “Jimmy Shand from hell” schtick was present and correct, with blistering versions of ‘System’, ‘Feeling’ and others. There was as usual a feeling the wheels could come off at any time but the sense of experimentation and being in the moment makes this set so vital and intriguing, different every time. Callum is a true star, charismatic but understated and the early hour was due to his current touring commitments with Young Fathers…
It was then up to the Studio to hear Tony Njoku perform some beautiful instrumental keyboards pieces, in between some quite astonishing vocal numbers – what a voice! BM was not previously familiar with his work but he has performed in Scotland before – hopefully he will be back as he is some talent, last track ‘The Great Escape’ was wonderful and BM was reminded of both Stevie Wonder and AR Kane, so there you go! Additional noise was provided by the cafe till and microwave beep – authentic “found sounds” which made BM crease up several times, but such is showbiz, and that’s the biz we are in here…
Next up in the main auditorium was London-based MF Tomlinson, not short for anything sweary… or maybe it is! MF Doom it was not though, instead a fearsome seven-piece lineup including brass, clarinet at times (did BM get this right?), with MF’s guitar leading the charge. Bluesy, proggy and prone to frequent instrumental wigouts, the lead vocals were high in the mix and boomed over the general din. The music (for BM anyway) channelled Fairport, Floyd and Scotland’s own Phantom Band – ‘Vintertime Blues’, ‘End Of The Road’ and others sounded great and blasted the audience almost into oblivion – really hope to see them in Scotland again soon…
There was a bit of a break then before the (admittedly quite sparse) audience headed back into the main auditorium for the first Glasgow performance of Weird Wave – good grief! A project conceived by Mr Lynch to celebrate 10 years of his involvement with various artists on Lost Map, this drew in eight players who given they were mostly in cosplay nightmare disguise, BM will not name in this review, they all know who they are!
Actually it was more of a celebration of free spirit and creativity, but also completely LOL hilarious. The music was all over the place but always great – closer ‘Big Jetty’ was an epic, with PT prowling the audience (at least as much as his mic cable would allow him), and he also gave the audience permission for to walk around during one number… Some great duetting as well between Pictish and L.T. Leif, something he doesn’t get to do in his usual band setup… just amazing though in Easterhouse at 6pm, shades of Memorial Device for any punter that had just wandered in…
Next up, Edinburgh-based synth duo Maranta played in the Studio – several new tracks in the set including a Hallowe’en one which “still didn’t work like last night as well” – they were still a bit phased from last night’s fashion show where they were not the main focus of audience attention… The music was infectiously good and BM has previously seen them cause dancing lift-off in a crowd but it was wasn’t going to happen today – still, some great singing and some slightly wonky, but totally on it, instrumentation recalling Hot Chip, Slam and even Soft Cell, so again there ye go!
The Umlauts were the last act to play, and BM had deliberately not listened to them in advance because sometimes you just want to go in cold, and my God they delivered a blistering set of mutant Krautrock disco which again contained some extreme wigout moments, hard to describe but to summarise, they blew the roof off this venue! A fierce 8 piece lineup with four girls up front, alternating vocals initially in German then with some English words, they really went for it!
Song names escape BM at this late stage but there is recorded material out there and all that can be said is that they rocked this arts centre and their unique take on modern music blew BM’s mind, even after everything else that had gone before – the fiddle added attack to the complex instrumentation – based in London, another act that Scottish promoters need to bring up again, quite incredible!
And credit due to Anna, Margaret and the other venue staff, the sound guys and of course the head honchos of both record labels for a storming selection of acts, and all for a reasonable price as well – reminder also that this is an all-ages venue, there were a few youngsters here as well, but anyone reading this who thinks “gig in Easterhouse, nah!” should really take a look at themselves… and at Platform…