Extreme Listening Mode!

On a foul night in Glasgow, a healthy crowd has gathered to do their bit for charidee at an event raising awareness of mental health issues in Scotland. So, while what we are all doing here leaves us feeling very worthy, what is the line up like?

Well, first up is that it is being compared by the incomparable Duglas T Stewart of the BMX Bandits. Duglas is still the King of Twee, indeed, he resembles not so much an adult male as a human knitting pattern. With his gawky mannerisms and posh voice, Duglas is the perfect face for this event – awkward, a bit shambling but ultimately fun.

Though I can’t say the same for opening act The Twilight Sad. They have been piddling about on the margins of the business for a while now, and sadly it’s not hard to fathom out why; they aren’t all that good. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with them, but you’d be hard pushed to sing one of their songs ten seconds after they’d finished playing it. Indeed, their most memorable song – indeed, only one – is a cover of Joy Division’s ‘Twenty Four Hours’ and very good it is too. But all it does is emphasise how startlingly average the rest of the set has been.

Next up is a reading from Scottish author Alan Bisset, which….well, it’s a reading. Without context or setting, it’s really hard to work out the point. He does say the c-word a lot, though, so we like him. Swearing from an author is art, right?

Then Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub comes on to do an acoustic 5 song set. He confesses he’s slightly tipsy as his guitarist encouraged him to have a whisky. Hey Norm, it’s cool – it’s rock’n'roll. And what a lovely little set he delivers, including delightful versions of ‘Everything Flows’ and ‘I Don’t Want Control Of You’. He performs a new track from the bands forthcoming album entitled ‘Baby Lee’. He stops after the first verse as he has forgotten the lyrics, which is very honest – it’s a new song, after all, he could have sung any old bollocks and we wouldn’t have known.

Then come Sons & Daughters, who surprise me by turning in a great set of dirty, Nick Cavesque gothic blues rock. They are a much more captivating presence live than on record. ‘Dance Me In’ is a stone-cold classic, and the audience really respond as the band whip up a vortex of dark sounds.

So, a hotchpotch of styles but a good show for a great cause. Can’t really ask for more than that.

Filed under: General Stuff | Tagged: norman blake, sons and daughters, Teenage Fanclub, twilight sad