RM Hubbert / Aidan Moffat / Craig B

Who says music and comedy don’t mix? Well, probably opening act “Craig and Graham” – – “a bad Butlins duo” is how the pair choose not to bill themselves.

The former is of course The Unwinding Hours’ vocalist, ably backed by Mr Smillie, a multi-disciplined chap who plays with “just about every band in Scotland” (only a slight exaggeration). He adds subtle nuances to a mix of Craig B’s solo versions of TUH and Aereogramme tunes – a stripped-back ‘Trenches’, sublime atmospherics on ‘Traces’, and beautifully stark, solo versions of ‘Solstice’ and ‘Barriers’, delivered to a packed but impressively silent venue.

With this launch tour for RM Hubbert’s album ongoing as I type, any review of Aidan Moffat’s spoken word set could act as punchline spoiler for the remaining shows. He kicks off with an online review of ‘C**ts’ which is, inevitably, dedicated to his nemesis, online reviewer Benny Sonic.

The SAY Award winner and former Arab Strap man’s set is a selection of poems and short, sharp stories punctuated by rambling introductions often much longer than the one-liners that pass for prose. There’s only one song, from, we’re told, a forthcoming release of tunes in a traditional Scottish style. It’s about a pub crawl, showing that even in standup mode the main subjects are drinking, swearing or shagging. He thanks the Thursday night audience, adding that “Every night’s party night in Aidantown”, but his set is much funnier than they would be if relayed in print – it’s the way he tells them.

RM Hubbert also has a sharp line in inter-song banter – part of his “Cavalcade of fun”. It’s necessary as the guitar tunings plus the inevitable flamenco and percussive slaps on his tunes means there’s a lot of tuning up to do – as well as showing us the “Magic behind the curtain” as he decides to file his nails to faciliate his virtuoso playing further. But Hubby has plenty to say. Most are now familar with his battle with depression, and our role as his therapists. He’s moved on from utilising guest vocalists as on the award-winner Thirteen Lost and Found and has adopted vocals again, something rarely heard and not since his releases with El Hombre Trajeado.

The audience is too reverent for hecklers, but there’s banter aplenty – a song described as partly about the Muppets and partly suicide (of course) is met with “Kermit-ing suicide?” by a sharp-minded wag, while new tune ‘Buckstacy’ lights a bulb over the singer’s head as he brainstorms what must be a surefire marketing success, if only Chemikal Underground are prepared to finance it. Given the subject matter of most of the songs it’s an astonishingly uplfting ‘session’, even if downbeat tunes like ‘For Joe’ are intended to spark happy memories and act as catharsis – indeed, only the “most depressing version” of the Alisdair Roberts -inspired ‘False Bride’ is lyrically about death. The Hubbert-penned lyrics are more, like most Aidan Moffat ones, about the trials and tribulations of relationships – whether current, past, or in the case of Nicola Roberts, imagined.
To close, a version of’Car Song’ – it would be rude not to with Mr Moffat there in the audience – but such is the response that an encore is inevitable. An attempt at ‘Switches Part 2’ is curtailed and replaced with more expert fretwork on ‘Slights’, followed by another attempt to lure us towards the merch stall, where he promises that his girlfriend will pick our pockets.
I assume he was joking…

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