If it is January it must be CC time, when beards and jumpers (and even some stilettos) flock to Glasgae…
Ok, enough cliches, if it is Saturday night it must also be The Big Dish – their best chart entry back in the 80s was number 39 for ‘Miss America’ if Betty recalls correctly, with massive plugging etc. Betty did her bit but we won’t talk about that…
It would be cruel to desribe them as also-rans in the pile-up of Scottish chart talent unleashed by major label feeding frenzies, probably due to the Orange Juice, then Lloyd Cole, Love and Money, Associates even, “come down to London and sign on the dotted line” etc.
To the action.
A sold out gig, band not played for 20 or so years, a lot of anticipation, plenty of nostalgia – for the record, Betty has seen them three times before, and it’s in bullets…
– first time supporting Lloyd (are you ready to be, fair play Tracey Anne) and his Connotations back in very late 1985, the result of an ill-judged date I had manipulated, she had a bigger moustache then Betty did at the time, there are procedures for this now, she didn’t turn up, Betty flogged the ticket for face value (£5) at the time, and the rest was history, or damp sheets anyway…
– second time supporting Lloyd and the Concertinas again, this time at Anti Apparatchick gig (big in the 80s) along with Billy Bragg, no pun intended (in true Miranda fashion, there isn’t one)
– third time during ye olde Big Day, where the cream of Scottish pop and rock (and Hue and Cry) did their bit for something or other, including the unfortunate bottling of Bellshill Girl Sheena “Sugar Walls” Easton, but we won’t talk about that.
Enough nostalgia, or neuralgia as it turned out to be, or in some cases syphillitic fingers.
The Big Dish came on as advertised around 2030 (support act had a Scottish name, CC support do not tend to inspire Betty so stayed in the pub, alternative to hair-pulling and undignified punch up about putting the ‘c with three stars’ back into country music, this girl probably got off lightly.
They were nervous, it was the original line-up, all still with their own hair, quite an achievement, some of us don’t even have our own breasts but we don’t talk about that.
First number tested out the levels, a very low-key accoustic version of ‘Prospect St’ from first album Swimmer (the one Betty was here to hear, c and three stars to the other two – not convinced)
From there on in it was a question of where or when would they ignite in any shape or form, and why did we care about them in the first place? During the set there was a lot of chit-chat and oral memories (calm down at the back) – Betty chatted to a 52-year-old who said his biggest regret in life was his unused ticket to Bob Marley and the Wailers at Green’s Playhouse in around 1978, thought they would be back next year but Bob copped it two years later… And the David Bowie/TITP thing was mentioned by more than one person as well – Dave you muppet, etc…
So the set was mid-paced, testing out the levels, whether the audience was into it or not, whether the big music 80’s shit really still counted.
They would have been pleasantly surprised, although there were some opportunities squandered…
– the tempo and playing was a bit pedestrian
– several of the best tracks were delivered acoustic, ie not the full Monty
Steven Lindsay, lead singer etc, could have a second career in standup waiting, he does a good line in the dry humour.
He tried to assess where TBD took inspiration from in the 80s and admitted that the Monklands Canal at Coatbridge might not rank among the top, but it did it for him.
He advised that people all over the world, even Airdrie, have been interested in the gig.
By the time they got into the stride they were pretty good, ‘Swimmer’ being an obvious highlight, also Lindsay solo effort ‘Here Comes the Rain’, a bit of banter on that one being part of the set I’m sure.
Betty knows of old (ok they did not press charges) regarding the brutal 10 o’clock curfew at ABC due to the clubs, half the crowd this had not been out on the town since 1991 (you cuckolded bastards).
The Dish’s encores were ‘Slide’, probably the strongest track on Swimmer to play live, and the execution was great, to be fair, plus previously trailed “surprise” cover – turned out to be ‘All The Young Dudes’ by Bowie/Hoople – fairly well done but just finding their feet again.