So, Celtic Connections comes to The Glad, and respect is due.
This amazing evening is warm, emotional and just 5 minutes totter (in heels) from BM’s own place of residence, no bus jakies or cobbles to contend with tonight. Always visionary in their arts programming, The Glad (and Stop Me if You Think You Have Heard This One Before) is an altogether good thing, and long may it continue. Like The Hug and Pint, this venue also smells really good, even near the toilets, because of the good food they serve up.
In fact Tisso (and sorry BM is not going to be searching her software for the ‘ø’ symbol, too much of a challenge!) Lake mentioned that they were “sated” by the food and general vibes – keeping musicians fed is also a good thing!
The ‘Lake (hope you don’t mind BM getting a bit more familiar) are a four-piece combo, some or all of them in other bands, but together there is such a good sound. We have a singer/guitarist, amazing Animal-esque drummer, very in-tune violin player (BM has spotted him before, can’t quite think on what stage but am watching you!) and solid bass player.
The songs are tight, thought-through and highly hummable. BM is reminded of Lambchop, also others mentioned Smog/Callahan, but TL have an original take so these are only vague reference points.
The first and last tracks were BM favourites, no track names mentioned, just intros ‘giving background info’, and BM can’t name them mainly because the current album has been delayed a bit – no matter, they were great.
There was a lot of thanking other people, always good as well. These are complex songs, but they sound simple, and that is the real gift of good music, hidden depths that repay from repeated listening, and live it is just such a treat, the interplay between the band members, and almost tripped over cables, up close and personal.
The last track (about ‘swimming in a river, and bleeding’!) employed a drum machine (and other effects) to create a pretty unique sound, backed by the live drummer and they really went for it as the track developed. File under ‘ones to watch’ – and check out that album, ‘Paths To The Foss’, very rural, backwoodsman stuff, but no fake hipster nonsense, it does feel like, and is, the real deal. They received a lot of applause tonight…
So – the headliners. Turns oot there are some local connections, at least with this venue, and again Modern Studies were fulsome in their praise of The Glad.
They have a had an intense recent period supporting the legendary (can BM call him that, well who would disagree?) King Creosote around the UK (they did not boast but said that the Glad was “better than Gateshead” – well, BM knows where you were recently, in fact walked past the Sage and the posters during a ‘work’ trip to Newcastle at New Year, skills to pay the bills etc).
So MS have ‘burst’ on the Scottish music scene (also on BBC6) since their support slot at Platform in October 2016 (sorry, BM was double-booked, it looked very tasty indeed, Emma Pollock was on such a roll in 2016 as well…).
Their stage set-up is slightly eccentric, with the xylophone covered in cardboard and looking more like a pizza box, anyone for Domino’s tonight?
They have an album out – ‘Swell To Great’ which is wonderful, but live ‘in concert’ they not only ramp up the instrumentation, they are also contagiously funny, self-deprecating and fabulous.
There are four people on stage – straight outta The Glad’s Joe on drums, just incredible, with complex patterns, guitarist/bassist is amazingly talented, wry humour and rakish good looks, ‘long suffering’ cellist/pianist is so adaptable and then there is Emily, (singer, lots of other instruments including that pizza box) who kind of carries the whole thing as chief speaker (and there is quite a lot of banter tonight).
This band is a fairly unique proposition and BM is struggling for easy comparisons, which just makes her want to listen to the album all night.
So BM is prone to yon previously referenced ridiculous comparisons, so she is going with “Cate le Bon’s madder sister, backed by Belle and Sebastian’s comedy stand-ins” – hope you like it guys, best that BM can do, but yous are so much more original than that.
The Ocean (like watery stuff) got several major shout-outs and menshies and it is thus no surprise that MS were KC’s recent support act. BM is going to Ye Olde Banana Merk tomorrow night as well, to see Mr Anderson and bow at his feet, but that is for another review…
Stand-out tracks from this hour-long set were ‘Father is a Craftsman’, definitely a bit of a Waterson/Carthy vibe there, but again totally original and magnificent. The vocal harmonies were standout, Emily’s voice smoky and expressive, the instrumentation sublime, sophisticated, adult (and yes BM saw you doing that thing Emily, know what TV channels you watch in your space time, dear me…).
‘Bottle Green’ – pure subliminal magic, so evocative, right down to the core, the bones, of living life, can BM really say anything more – no, MS have ‘it’, believe this. And we also got ‘Dive Bombing’, good grief – BM is not prone to exaggeration but there are new highs here…
The audience were generally in rapture, as was BM, and they ended with a Bert Jansch cover (forget the name, dammit) where some serious scenery-chewing and instrumental wigouts occurred, careful with that mikestand Emily.
Overall a triumphant headliner and a seriously happening support act, The Glad Cafe, BM loves you, yet again.