“This is what I call an album launch party!” exclaims Colin Macintyre, as the crowd on his opening tourdate sing back the words to 2003’s hit single ‘The Final Arrears’.
Except, we don’t get to hear all that much of the new album he’s ostensibly here to promote. Starting with the band’s eponymous ‘theme tune’, the packed Hug and Pint echoes back every word, and it’s as if we’re in the midst of a fan club convention. The gig is in fact a ‘regular show, open to the public, but it would appear that tickets have been snapped up by true aficionados.
Following, a clutch of ‘hits’ including an exuberant ‘Watching Xanadu’, we are treated to some new material. “There’s nothing worse than coming to a gig where it’s all brand new songs,” he says. “It’s fine if they’re any good ones” comes back the reassuring response.
And good they are. Title track ‘Wakelines’ is a classic to rival anything from that run of chart hits the Mulls had in the early noughties, while ‘Clementine’ similarly carries a singalong hook that this crowd will doubtless be very familiar with come his next Glasgow show, at Oran Mor for Celtic Connections next January.
Macintyre, perhaps still in autobiographical mood, is entertainingly chatty, detailing his “Trains planes and automobiles” journey to get here, due to “Storm Malky”, and with his new best mate Neil going through a near death experience on the bumpy plane ride north.
Following an energetic hour or so, the band leave Macintyre alone with us, as we get stripped-back version of ‘Barcode Bypass as well as some more tales, and even a reading from new his memoir (seems this may be a book launch too) which leads to a beautiful version of one of the cornerstones of both new releases, 14 Year Old Boy’.
There’s also newie ‘Little Bird – “about daughters”, which elicits an “awww” from he crowd” as wall as slotting in ‘Barcode Bypass’, the hits pretty much covered. Apart from, that is, ‘Put Your Arms Around Me’, saved for an encore and which garners the most rapturous applause of the night.
The MHS are most definitely back, and worth joining – after all, as the lyric has it, they’re “here for you and me.”
Also chief newshound at Jockrock
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