With Self Esteem already on the crest of a wave, it was something of a bonus to get a total of three excellent acts on this bill – with the final performance as bravura as you are likely to see and hear anywhere this year.
The crowd were just beginning to file into the QMU in Glasgow’s West End when first act Marged (originally from Wales) appeared with guitarist Sylvia to give us 8 tracks of sparse but gorgeous bluesy music. Starting with ‘Whisper’ and older song ‘Flowers’, she soon warmed up her vocal cords and later tracks like new song (aka) ‘Nail Emoji’ were pure belted out, letting her voice rip, but in a controlled way. The guitar playing was stripped back and gave the vocals the opportunity to blast through the PA. Second last song ‘Fall Deeper’ was introduced by the words “the people this song is about, I don’t speak to these fuckers now – good riddance!” Well, these fuckers’ loss is our gain – it was a mixture of traditional and modern delivery that referenced a few other singers but the voice was definitely her own, and this wasn’t either of the duo’s final appearances tonight!
Next up was flame-haired Phoebe Green, who was accompanied by Mike on guitar, Lucy on keys, Matt on bass and Max on drums (hopefully all correct, apologies if not). Several of the band looked a bit like refugees from an early 90s Ride lineup, and they certainly rocked! The overall effect, combined with Phoebe’s strident vocals was like a mashup of Ladytron, Lush and possibly Roxy Music, and they steamed through 9 tracks in all, starting with the catchy ‘Grit’. Bass player Matt transferred to keyboards for some of the latter tracks, so ‘Make It Easy’ and ‘Sweat’ had some powerful electronic bass sounds. Phoebe was delighted by the reaction of the crowd, now fairly swelling in numbers and beginning to get increasingly into the music. A great performance by an interesting combo with an immersive sound.
Which left the headliner, who took a bit of time to appear (well past the advertised 9pm) but when she did, OMG what an entrance. First drummer Tim (?) and bass/guitarist Sylvia (onstage again) started an immense drum cacophony, then the strobes flashed away, and suddenly there she was Rebecca Lucy Taylor, aka Self Esteem, flanked by singers/dancers Marged (again) and Serafina. The band were dressed in formal black with shirts and black ties, shorts and tights for the girls, while RLT wore a black basque over a white starched shirt and black breeks.
From the start the audience went mental as the first few notes of ‘I’m Fine’ sounded and RLT burst into action, with the backing singers right behind her. There then followed a masterclass in performance, with coordinated dance moves, close harmony singing and some truly banging drums and baseline. Listening to the ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ album BM was thinking Fever Ray, mixed in with a bit of Kate Bush, but what we got tonight was more like peak Madonna spliced with Destiny’s Child via some Britney/Katy Perry type bluster. The drumkit did have “Keep Lyrics Uncomfortable” written on it in large letters, which did reference some of the lyrical content of the songs.
The band played most of the current album and around half of the previous one, with ever-increasing gusto and audience reaction. At one point the band paused and the crowd yelled and clapped for probably a full five minutes – it is a long time since BM has seen that happen spontaneously.
Other writers have previously covered RLT’s material in a lot of detail, but let’s just say that the content covered sexuality of various persuasions, gender politics, female empowerment, and lack of it, guilt and negative thinking of various kinds along with a huge dose of self-realisation and positivity, and not forgetting dashes of blacker than black humour. RLT has a mesmerising stage presence but you could see the whole band was feeding off each other, physically and musically. The main set ended with the lower-tempo ‘Just Kids’, then the epic ‘I Do This All The Time’, then went off briefly, only to return with ‘Still Reigning’ and oldie ‘You’re The Best’. As the full band took a bow you could see RLT almost welling up – and the crowd were rabid with appreciation.
This brought to an end a pretty incredible evening’s entertainment. Self Esteem is playing at least two Scottish festivals later this year – go see, you will not regret it!