Hard to believe that The Glad Cafe in Shawlands, Glasgow is 10 years old this year. This was one of a string of gigs which celebrated that fact, and featured a number of musicians who featured heavily in the first few years of Glad goings on. The roof repair is now done and there have been a few internal upgrades but the stage is pretty much the same, overseen tonight by the excellent Paul on sound…
First up was Jamie Scott, last seen at the Glad punting his Glasgow Garden Festival concept album, from which he played at least one track tonight. Basically one man, some machines and a keyboard or two, he is remarkably self-sufficient and deals in self-effacing raps and monologues, with some singing as well. Witty, inventive but presenting very much as a beta male, these tracks were hugely enjoyable, leaving some food for thought regarding his take on culture wars and (more obliquely, politics). The pretty much capacity crowd loved it, and BM certainly hopes that Jamie breaks new or old territory again some time real soon…
RAZA, who comprise Bertrand on drums and Gav on guitar/vocals, apparently have not been gigging much in recent years but put in a sterling performance, full of jazzy drumrolls from Bertrand and plenty of guitar from Gav. Song titles eluded BM but the vibe was great and provided a good 20 to 30 minutes to get lost in the music.
Headliner Jonnie Common lives in Stirling these days and his one-musings on the world are still great craic. Guitar playing was nifty, tunes were sprightly but heavier where required and he retains his reputation as a singular artist not beholden to any particular genre or movement. Exactly the sort of artists that the Glad has been so great at promoting over these past 10 years, and the loyalty and enthusiasm of the audience made this very clear tonight – let us hope for a good few more decades of Glad at the very least…
