A busy night in Glasgow, but not busy enough at the Garage. This gig was bumped downstairs to the less salubrious space known BM thinks as “G2” and previously for a while “The Venue”. Not a great portent in terms of SO’s profile in Glasgow but December dates are always hard to pull off at relatively short notice as the pre-Xmas calendars fill up and people realise how much it is all costing.
An even worse portent for the evening was that there was “no” draft beer, like none at all. On realising that a Heinieken “stub” (ie half a pint) was retailing for £3, BM’s comments were greeted by one fellow punter with outrage. “This is a nightclub, mate, and don’t be cheeky to the staff”. BM suspects this lovely chap was either a) the owner of the venue, or b) a complete a*** trying to impress his ladyfriend by coming to the “defence” of the barstaff.
BM decided to leave it there but for your information, sir, if you can read complicated words like these, nightclubs do serve beer on draught occasionally, this one even had taps. BM later found out the shortage had been caused due to unexpected beer consumption by Cast fans a couple of days earlier; well, management should have realised that maximum intoxication is required before exposure to a Cast gig and over-ordered supplies that week, ’nuff said really… talk about p***ups and breweries…
So somewhat more sober than expected, BM shifted to the front of the fairly sparse, it would have to be said, crowd and heard Loki and his very talented female guitar player/backing vocalist get through the remainder of their set, several numbers of bile, humour and smart instrumental backing. He’s a clever guy and knows how to work a crowd although this never quite ignited tonight it the way it perhaps could have.
A short break, punctuated by more overpriced lager, and SO came on well before 9, the usual for this “nightclub” venue. Resplendent in shorts, trainers, bb cap and SO T-Shirt, Dave Hook (aka Solareye) led on a 6-piece band that got on with it with gusto. Solareye onstage is their greatest asset, engaging with the audience from the off: funny, self-deprecating but very focused on what he’s doing. The others provide superb backing, and by turns every one of the other personnel (guitar, drums, bass, keys and backing vocals) at various points made backing tracks which at times could be average quite unique and special. This was especially the case for the vocals of Veronica Electronika which are essential in giving the tracks a warmer more sensuous feel.
With several albums of material (the set included the highlights from this year’s album ‘A Thing Brand New’ plus quite a few from previous one ‘Reject’) to draw from, SO were able to vary the set, from cerebral tracks about explaining the history of rap music, musings on parenthood and of course the inevitable politics. ‘Son I Voted Yes’ did take on a bit of a life of its own this year (certainly went down rather well at the Usher Hall in September, SO’s largest audience to date BM thinks, although they were near the bottom of a large bill) and deservedly so, it’s a showcase for Solareye’s wordplay and hits some “they asked for it” targets without being too egotistical about it (the main problem IMO for rappers everywhere!).
So there was plenty of audience participation, plenty of admiration, a bit of an acknowedgement from both band and audience that the “Scottish rap act” tag can be/has been a bit of a cringe factor for some of us at times, but SO have the licks, the words and the tunes to get over this, and this year they have not been the only ones.
Onward and upward for 2015 guys.