by Vespertine
This was advertised as ‘the Christmas show’ due to the promise to play their new Christmas single and the now legendary Christmas EP first championed by John Peel many years ago. ‘Little Drummer Boy’ even got used in a Gap advert. But…it is November and it is a Monday. Can the Glaswegian audience close its eyes and pretend? The band won’t care I suppose: Mormons don’t celebrate Christmas….
The hall was packed (and decked?) and the reception for the band was warm. The first 35 minutes saw a more or less standard Low set: simple songs that rise above their basic structure and instrumentation and become things of startling beauty. Highlights were ‘Murderer’, ‘Sandinista’ and the awesome ‘When I Go Deaf’. Then came the heckle: “Play the Christmas stuff; that was on the advert, play it.” After being told to f*** off (by me) the girl in question was announced as a ‘prophetess’ by Alan Sparhawk who then brought support act Ida (excellent) back to the stage to augment the sound. I felt both proud of my sterling defence of the band’s artistic expression and yet alos mildly stupid.
The Christmas EP is a thing of great beauty, warmth and humour. It is all great but highlights for me were ‘Take The Long Way Round’ and the lyrically profound ‘If You Were Born Today’:
“If you were born today
We’d kill you by age eight
Never get the chance to say:
Joy to the world and Peace on the earth
Forgive them for they know not what they do,
Blessed are the meek”
Then came the new single, a reggae (yes, honestly) hymn ‘The Coming of Jah’ which skanked in a way I had assumed I’d never see Low skank. Then the awesome, terrifying and wonderful ‘Santa’s Coming’ which works in a way it shouldn’t. A slab of noisy, sparse rock which hopes that Santa doesn’t miss any little children this Christmas. Oh yes.
The band was dragged out for a last encore which was a ramshackle and oddly moving cover of ‘Merry Christmas, War Is Over’ by John Lennon. With events round the world being as they are it worked, replete with sleigh-bells and glorious backing vocals. “War is over, if you want it” is a thought and a half for us all.
I left feeling uplifted and with thoughts of peace and goodwill to all men. Except hecklers and c***s who talk through gigs.
Filed under: gigs | Tagged: albums, gigs, low, low christmas, low glasgow, reviews
I bought the Low Christmas EP last year and very good it is too.
You lot go to a lot of gigs, ELM. Maybe you should stay in more. Credit crunch an’ that.
Although, you wouldn’t like to be on yer death bed saying “I wish I’d stayed in more” would you?
ELM seems to have a clutch of reviewers in its stable. Wise idea.
We have a crack team, or a team of cracks, one or the other.
I do the majority because I’m the best.
Myself and Bertrand have often mused over “teaming a crack”.
Are you familiar with the concept of “Eiffel Towering”?
Yes, sadly I am.
The ‘trombone’ you explained to me was simply ghastly.