“Is this the new Green Day…?”
Jokes and old film references aside, there are three things in this life that are certain… Death, taxes, and Stiff Little Fingers are going to be playing the Barras at St Paddy’s. The legendary punk band have made the legendary venue their second home for decades and this year we’re joining the party.
I arrive twenty minutes before doors, anticipating a queue around the block… there’s three people waiting. It makes me wonder if I have the wrong dates in my diary (wouldn’t be the first time) but the ‘Inflammable Material’ hoodies reassure me that I’m just being keen. On the walk up, I passed many a rowdy sounding bar. So maybe the locals are providing the real opening act for tonight. Maybe the draw of Marti Pellow playing the same night across town was too much of a draw to resist?
The show is opened by incredible special guest Glen Matlock. I saw Glen play with little known band The Sex Pistols back at the chaotic Loch Lomond festival in Balloch many years ago, but haven’t been exposed to his solo stuff as of yet.
I’m going to lead Glen’s set with a question. What makes something “punk” ? Is it brash three chord anthems about the establishment or is it entirely about who is singing? It’s undeniable that Glen was the musical brains behind The Sex Pistols – and some say they invented punk rock (a little more deniable) so, does that mean that anything Glen Matlock does is punk rock?
If you play this music to anyone without saying who it is, they’d probably say “no”. It’s rock n roll with little suggestions of surf and running bass lines. You can hear the 60s and 70s in these songs, but not the 70s that we’re used to hearing Mr Matlock playing. There’s a bit of punk a la Cockney Rebel or other less overdriven rock acts with the right ‘attitude’ and Glen speaks about the song that inspired ‘Pretty Vacant’ before covering it (‘Blank Generation’ by Richard Hell and the Voidoids) and then plays ‘Pretty Vacant’ itself after pulling us into a false sense of security with another solo number.
Overall, a really solid set and worthy of its own headlining slot at a venue bigger than St Luke’s which is where he played an under promoted gig a few weeks ago.
By the time our support finishes, the hall is pretty much packed out with more fans ascending the stairs. The PA at either side of the stage seems to be bigger than I’ve ever seen it too. Everything about what’s about to happen makes you feel a little small in your surroundings and that just heightens the anticipation. The most punk of tracks – a medley of ABBA – before the lights come down with intro track ‘Go For It’. The audience sing along to the instrumental with the gusto that would normally accompany the band being on stage. When Stiff Little Fingers come on stage, you can see a decent amount of pride and appreciation on the face of frontman Jake Burns.
Now for this next part, I need to break it down into two parts. There’s the music, and there’s the stage presence.
Musically, if you – like me – were introduced to ‘real’ music by way of the earliest Green Day albums, Stiff Little Fingers will leave you feeling ripped off. Seeing SLF live as an old school Green Day fan has you livid that you were fed white label, diet, caffeine-free cola when these guys could have been giving you full fat, Coca Cola straight from the box of syrup. Suddenly, that joke in High Fidelity makes sense. The guitar tone is flawless and best of all, it’s coming out of real amplifiers and not digital boxes. Drummer Steve Grantley proves that he can still keep up with the young ’uns a third of his age, but the star of the night for me was bassist Ali McMordie. The bass lines sat in the pocket all night and if I didn’t know better, I’d assume there was a letter from McMordie’s lawyers en route to Mike Dirnt for stealing his style. It’s the bass that lifts the music and carries it forward. Altogether, this is a masterclass in proper punk from the masters.
When it comes to stage presence, there’s nothing lacking that we can’t forgive our headliners for. We have four men in their sixties, so to expect Jake Burns to suddenly perform a flying scissor kick while spinning his guitar around his neck wouldn’t be fair. Most of the motion comes from McMordie dancing across the stage. Rather than an entertaining song and dance, its band firing their songs into the crowd at point blank range and the crowd are firing them right back. Straight from the off, there’s political commentary between songs but it comes from a place of understanding each other and talking to one another. A stance which comes with a bit of wisdom and experience. In a world of echo chambers and entitlement, it’s good to be reminded of how to conduct ourselves by those who have really made a difference.
The set begins with ‘Suspect Device’ which is a surprising mega hit to start with. Normally fan favourites are left for later, but we hit the ground running tonight. We get ‘Nobody’s Hero’, ‘Tin Soldiers’, and ‘Alternative Ulster’ at the tail end of the set which gave us something to look forward to throughout the night. Not that there’s a moment where you find yourself waiting on a particular song… the pace and atmosphere keeps you in the moment and no matter what is happening on stage, there’s nowhere you’d rather be.
Tonight wasn’t just a couple of legends playing in a legendary venue on a legendary weekend. It’s a tradition that’s now part of the DNA of the Barras and even if you’re only slightly interested in punk rock, it’s something you should experience once.
And in case you were wondering… Jake’s voice is still top notch.
Photos by Catching Light Photography
Catching Light Photography
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