So RSD is 10, and out and about on this sunny spring day there was no shortage of people stoatin’ about Glasgow with their new purchases in LP-sized bags.
Some releases were old, recycled product repackaged at premium price and BM cannot help thinking that some are being ripped off by other people who already have enough in the bank (Bowie, ok he is deid, but Pink Floyd, some of them are still technically alive…sorry). However there are many acts who do need our cash and every single of the ones reviewed today were playing for free to flog their RSD product.
Enormous praise must go today to Sandy at LoveMusic and to the guys at Mono for bothering to put on these gigs – this was a supremely enjoyable and frequently hilarious day to be around Glasgow – lots of footy fans as well and one impromptu event was a wee singsong by Aberdeen fans (after beating Hibs at Hampden in the SC semi, missus) in Sainsbury’s Dundas branch beside Queen St station, you naughty boys…
The LoveMusicGlasgow events took place this year in Sammy Dow’s function suite, so again big thanks to them for bothering to get involved. This venerable space has a bar, some tables and a space at the back where the bands plugged in, records were DJed inbetween and the sun shone in from time to time – very traditional except for the sun, and maybe slightly bigger than The Vale lounge which was used last year.
First up at 1.30pm was Gordon Harrow, playing to a handful of people, some of whom may well have been related to him! He has an EP out (‘Indian Giver’) and he played several tracks from this plus an older song ‘Walking Backwards’. It was just him on guitar/vocals with some scorching effects pedals – the songs were melodic and heartfelt. A one-off song, ‘Vinyl Dreams’ channelled RSD via love of good recorded music – overall a good if low key opener for the day.
Next was Fallen Arches aka Colin Bell, on acoustic guitar. The four or five songs he did were promoting a new album ‘Pen to Paper’. He was passionate, witty and a good listen all round. There were several songs about bands falling out and BM got the impression this was from personal experience. He has a very good singing voice and great strumming action. The bar was beginning to fill up now with music lovers and members of bands appearing, with general good vibes and craic. Sandy himself appeared at various points to check on his bookings and there was free product including a RSD birthday cake, a very nice touch…
Following the Fallen were the Yellow. At around 2.30pm they took the stage. Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5 have had a meteoric rise on the Glasgow live circuit but they know their roots and they were well up for this mere pub gig. The amassed band (no bass player, though The Colonel wore a Bass Generator T-Shirt!, was billed as acoustic but they certainly plugged in a few things) numbered ten (BM thinks) and they tore the place up with a greatest hits five song party set. They were introduced onstage by Gavin Mitchell aka Still Game’s Boaby the Barman. While the band’s round was handed across from the bar there was a discussion about it being a “good drying day, could have done at least three”, and at one point The Colonel suggested he started serving behind the bar “because this place looks a bit like The Clansman” – indeed it does. Starting with the traditional ‘International Sex Hero’ then moving onto the B Side of their RSD single, ‘Children’, this was a good sound, remarkable given the limited space, so much credit to the soundman for the day. There was much banter, The Col stumbled the words and there was a “false” ending, “not practiced that one enough!”
A righteous “These Are Not The Drugs You Are Looking For’ ended with mass waving of hands etc and the A Side of the RSD single, the Dijon favourite ‘Cross the Road’ had to be “crossed” in a limited space so it was Cross the Road “on the spot”, otherwise the whole building was in danger of tipping into the concourse of Queen St, you can imagine the headlines… After band and audience discussion it was decided that the last song would be ‘Gay Icon’. This was dispatched with the usual OTT rendition and it is hard to express the love in the room when these songs were played – we were a limited but very lucky audience to witness this best party band in the land and then some do their stuff in this small pub. Credit to all the musicians, very very talented so they are, it takes a very tight band to make a large sound be so inclusive and effective. Phew, really really good!
ULTRAS (aka Gav Prentice) was already bigged up by The Colonel but he admitted the Dijons were a hard act to follow but he had maybe got a few ideas for a new image…. – but with a warning that he might kill the mood, he did several songs from the new LP (out soon but copies already available at the back!). Recent single “You’ve a Foul Mouth John Barleycorn” sounds a lot different sung with just an acoustic but the quality of the songwriting shines through, along with the spat words, the self-loathing of the character and the rage under the lyrics. Second song “The Path to Getting Paid” is an epic of Scottish kicking against the pricks. Beforehand Gav asked for the consensus from the parents about whether to change the one big sweary and it was agreed it was better to leave it in and “hear it first from a friend” – it was aimed against Tories, well, anyway, we do our best to educate the young… This song has some acerbic and splenetic words, all very much appreciated by this author. BM thinks it was third song “Where I fall” where Gav used an electronic drum track, this one might owe a bit to the Frabbits but hey good influence to have… Previous single “Team Handed” was also played, with the deployment of weapons as key to surviving in some parts of Scotland being a sobering thought – overall a righteous and life-affirming set, and good luck to Gav and the fellow Ultras, album release show at Hug and Pint early next month (plug!).
There was during the next break some spoken word from David Ross – his new book “The Man Who Loved Islands” sounds pretty good from this performance alone, and BM is a fan of his work on the page.
Static Union were on next, young guys with a pretty mean guitar sound, think Interpol vs Sterophonics. “Turn out the lights” is the lead track on their RSD release and it sounds pretty classic, full of bubbling riffs and a real meltdown section. Sean McGarvey has the real potential of frontman, Cameron Angus flayed the drums, Liam Adams throbbed the bass and James Harker riffed for Scotland, as well as making a cheeky promise to get his kit off if someone bought him a pint. They were supporting Holyesque later that night – good luck guys, you were very impressive, some rockin racket!
At this point BM made a trip down to Mono where RSD festivities were also well underway. BM is a longtime fan of Teencanteen and is not going to review them in detail here, suffice to say that they were pretty magnificent for the first two thirds of the set that BM observed, starting with ‘Cherry Pie (how we met)’ – they just get better and better and always puts a huge grin on this frazzled fizzog (this time quote is “The Ronettes with Belinda Carlisle on lead vocals”, in a good way!). They must with this performance have won some more fans, also playing a proper paid gig later that night at Nice and Sleazy’s. But BM associate Jimi Hendrix was determined to see more stuff up at Dow’s so off we met (you know that BM loves you guys, and hopes to catch yous again v soon!).
Back at Dow’s, Sandy had broken out the RSD 10th birthday cake and there was an unexpected bonus as things were running late – we caught Storm the Palace, who were great. Reuben on accordion and Sophie on guitar/vocals played several dark folkish songs reminding BM of Gillian Welsh and other alt-country acts. They were also very funny with the between song banter… They also have a RSD release, and the ‘Taxi Song’ track about not quite getting what you wanted was heartfelt and emotional – they also have a full band gig coming up soon so watch this space, really good stuff.
And last up in Dow’s were Pronto Mama. This was BM’s fourth experience of their live performance in less than a year, and again they did not disappoint. This was another full band show, six of them onstage, and boy did they make some racket (bigger cymbals were attached to the kit which had survived all day, but looked in danger of falling apart during the battering it took from their ginger-Afroed drummer). Their album ‘Any Joy’ is out next week and some have already been shipped (Jimi found his at home on return from this gig, Xmas present late result!). A highlight were recent single ‘Arabesque’, full of parping brass, stop/start dynamics and just a gorgeous vocal, streaming along. “One Trick Pony” was also played, also ‘Remission’, an early but much-loved track. There were notably a couple of epic keyboard solos, Stevie Wonder via Tony Banks (from Genesis, ask yer Grandpa).
While never showy these guys just lock together, the slightly “unclassic” combination (6 players including two vocalists, guitar/bass/drums at times three keyboards, plenty of brass) just works and at its best is simply stunning – (there is jazz/funk/blistering guitar meltdowns/ska/dark Scotrock/the lot! But always original and played with verve and humour along with genuine passion). It is hard to convey the sheer joy in the room, around 7pm as the last song is played, like we were all in on the best secret in town that day, then it is all over and we blink our way back into reality.
An unforgettable day!
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