Sometimes unlikely things happen, and sometimes they can be very positive, and this was one of those things.
Somewhat out of the blue, the return of The Imagineers after a lengthy, and many felt possibly terminal, hiatus.
BM arrived shortly after the main support Zuper Rookie took to the stage. Luke, aka ZR, used a couple of electronic devices to back his singing and other repartee. Audience reaction was good and his cover of ‘Enola Gay’ provoked some enthusiastic dancing. A native of East Kilbride, his material referenced some eccentric themes and there was an overall 80s retro vibe.
There’s something there, but BM isn’t quite sure what – the song for his girlfriend turned out to be “not even her favourite song of mine” which seemed a bit unfortunate, but may have been deliberate self-deprecation. BM would also observe that if the music doesn’t work out then a career in standup might well beckon – he’s quite a natural!
The room was pretty full by the time the main act took the stage around 8.45pm – there were a fair number of WAGs, parents and pals, and with the pre-Xmas season now in full swing, a fair amount of yabbering in the audience. The band however were undeterred and after some tuning and testing of pedals it was sonic lift-off with the first track ‘John The Terror’.
The four original band members were joined by a keyboard player (who may or may not have played with the combo in their first incarnation) but the main emphasis throughout was the distinctive Gretch guitar sound and the spot-on lead vocal which characterised the style, supplemented by acoustic/electric strumming, clattering and dramatic drumming combined with deadly and supple basslines.
There were new tracks like ‘Oh My Love’ mixed with the older ones – there is a new EP out. Mariachi-style Strummerisms combined with Glasvegas-esque swagger on track like ‘Albert Einstein’ and ‘Superstar Scientist’ (was there a theme developing there?).
The crowd loved it and BM would have to say it was a dynamic, visually arresting and enjoyable performance which held the attention throughout a set which almost broke the 10pm curfew (ok not a curfew but the place needs to be completely cleared for the club night at 11pm so they tend to want things to stop at 10). The band however got through 15 songs and could have gone on longer – they seemed pleased with the reaction and BM was informed they will be back in action next year – looking forward!