These are my thoughts and photos of the various concerts I attend. They are written for my enjoyment, however, if you enjoy reading them, then we are both happier for the experience. Please feel free to comment, especially if you liked what you read and also note that the photos are copyrighted.
In 1972, as a 14 year old, my mind and musical 'taste' were sent into stella overdrive, some might say I was blown away, by an album that, to this day, is one of my all time favourite live albums. The album was Made In Japan, the band was Deep Purple and the opening track was Highway Star (recorded in Osaka on 16 August 1972).
Leap forward a mere a five years and a Northern Irish band, called Highway Star after the song, started to gain attention on the embryonic punk scene and by 1979, as an art student, I was swept down stream by the raucous cacophony that was the punk movement. So when I first heard the debut album "Inflammable Material" by Stiff Little Fingers (formerly Highway Star) I was hooked. When a new band appears the first song people hear is so important and SLF nailed me with track one, side one: Suspect Device. Not only did it have a pumping intro, but it also it starts with the powerful words "Inflammable material is planted in my head, It’s a suspect device that's left 2000 dead".
Stiff Little Fingers
Now leap forward some 35 years and here I am again at a Stiff Little Fingers gig. What's more the gig is on a boat in a submarine basin in Bordeaux, France! C'eat la vie! Next up: 17 humdinger, foot stomping, pogo inducing, lyrically loaded, classic songs! First out the traps was Wasted Life, track number four from that debut album and a 3 minute burst of lyrical and sonic delight. I haven't heard the song in many years and yet I knew ever word and sang along with the best of them!
Still they come up to me
With a different name but same old face
I can see the connection
With another time and a different place
They ain't blonde-haired or blue-eyed
But they think that they're the master race
They're nothing but blind fascists
Brought up to hate and given lives to waste
Jake Burns
Jake Burns (lead vocals / guitar) was in fine form and his voice is still a major part of the band’s overall sound. He fronted the band with charisma and the inter song banter was both entertaining and informative. Ali McMordie (bass / vocals), the only original band member along side Jake and who also runs a band management company, stood to Jake’s left and produced some great, deep throbbing bass lines especially on the reggae steeped Doesn't Make It Alright which Jake informed us was written by The Specials. Ian McCallum (guitar/vocals) looking for all the world like Ian Rankin also added some mighty fine guitar work to keep the groove moving along and the song evolved into a grand finale of punk/rock/reggae. A stand out for me.
Ian McCallum
Meanwhile, the extremely accomplished Steve Grantley (drums), pounded out a solid, measured beat and accompanied each song with his trade mark precision. Steve has also drummed with The Alarm and numerous ‘well kent' names including Julian Lennon and Pete Wylie. He has also found time to write and publish two books! On the night, I particularly enjoyed Steve’s work on the the Phil Spector-esque Barbed Wire Love, introduced in french by Ali and which ended in a pure punk work out.
This was followed by Strummerville, a song that Jake advised was written as a tribute to the late great Joe Strummer and in acknowledgment of the influence The Clash had on SLF. The song was tight and joyous and a fitting testament to a true legend which included some great drumming and guitar solos. The intro to Tin Soldiers continued the fine vein of interplay between drum and guitar and the lyrics are another acerbic look at the stark choices that faced young men in Belfast in recent times.
Ali McMordie
The band played several numbers form the latest album No Going Back and I particularly enjoyed Full Steam Backwards and My Dark Places. On Full Steam Backwards the sound was funky with classic SLF chugging guitar, drum and bass and Jake hits out at the recent banking crisis with the typically cutting lyrics
So you studied hard and you got a good job
Cos you don’t want to be just another slob
And you put some money away for a rainy day
And the job goes well
And you like the work
And you think promotion is a cert
And you never see it ending any day
And you get a nice car
And you get a nice wife
And you think to yourself: “Man it’s a wonderful life!”
But you don’t see the trouble headed right your way
On the financial page
Steve Grantley
However, My Dark Places is another matter altogether, addressing as it does the issue of depression and Jake was frank enough to tell us that it was written about his struggle to deal with the ‘black dog’ that visits him. The song includes the line “I’m not going back to my dark places” and it is sung to a really catchy tune that hooks you and wraps you in a jaunty, melodic sound. However, the lyrics are serious and heartfelt and gives some insight into what suffering depression is like. This is the kind of song that the band excel at and which Mr Burns writes with aplomb - an instant classic.
Jake Burns
The venue was tight and the gig well attended, although the low ceiling in the depths of the iBoat impeded the sound and made it difficult for the more energetic fans to pogo with any real zest! However, this did not hinder us from letting loose and grooving along to some damned fine music performed by four middle aged lads with a grand pedigree.
So as things wound there way to a conclusion Jake told us that they would not be leaving the stage for the obligatory ‘bull shit’ encore break and instead the band launched into a three song set which climaxed with the peerless Alternative Ulster. No doubt the lads are pretty sick of some of the older songs, having played them to death over the years, however, it didn't show on this one and the version they performed was as fresh and vibrant as I recall from their debut album way back in 1979! The years simply melted away and I was a fresh faced, idealistic young art student again, however, my body quickly told me that I was am no longer capable of throwing some of the moves I once did. But hay, we have all grown a little older and a little wiser and it was wonderful to have the chance to relive my youth and hear some up-to-date songs performed by the tight, accomplished and well honed outfit that Stiff Little Fingers have become. A band who have released some 10 studio and 15 live albums along the way.
Thanks for a great night and here’s to a few more in the years to come! Sláinte
Next up on my musical journey through 2014 was the Southern Fried Music Festival in the fair city of Perth, often referred to as "the gateway to the Highlands". The first gig of the weekend for me was at 14:00 in the The Moncrieff Suite, formerly the Salutation Assembly Rooms, in reputedly the "oldest established hotel in Scotland", the Salutation Hotel on South Street. The 'Sally' began taking bookings for weary travellers back in 1699 and on Saturday was to play host to two cracking gigs, the first of which was Ags Connolly a resident of Finstock in Oxfordshire.
With a mid afternoon kick off, we arrived in good time and took our seats at one of the many linen cloth covered tables set out randomly around the hall. It was a rather surreal experience with folk in shorts, flip flops, sandals and the seats covered in a deep blue velvety fabric contrasting well with the sanded oak flooring of the dance floor, not your usual venue. However, with a dedicated bar at the back of the place we were set to enjoy ourselves and I reckon Ags and his band did too from the way they played their joyous, bountiful set. The threesome stepped up on to the low dais come stage at about 14:00 and set off with a wonderful rendition of track two from the current album How About Now (note: no question mark!). To paint the picture, and sketched out for you looking towards the stage, we had from the left Nico Bruce on upright double bass, Ags Connolly on electrified acoustic guitar and Stuart Nesbit on electric guitar to the right. A simple but extremely potent arrangement, no need for drums, organ, piano, xylophone or what ever else here!
Stuart Nesbit
Ags informed us that Stuart had played the guitar parts on the Dean Owens produced album released in February this year and as such the lead guitar solos were crisp, clean and creative, contributing to the songs magnificently. Check out the sublime solo in She Doesn't Need Anyone Anymore for starters. Dean, formerly the front man of the wonderful but little known Scottish Americana band the Felsons, has done a great job on record and I was to be treated to hearing the songs live for the first time today. The gig was sadly to be a short one, lasting some 45 minutes, but as is often said, good things come in small packages and this was not to be the exception to the rule!
Ags has evolved as a country singer and is now an acolyte of the Ameripolitan musical genre as espoused by the great Dale Watson. In fact, Ags' musical heroes sound like a veritable feast of the greats from the rebellious end of country music, they include David Allan Coe, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings (all three name checked on When Country Was Proud), Robert Earl Keen, Chris Knight, Johnny Cash and Johnny Paycheck to name a few! He has also evolved a great singing voice which stays true to his English roots but nods in recognition of many great American country singers. I would also add that on I'm Not Someone You Want To Know and I Hoped She Wouldn't Be Here he sounds like the wonderful Aboriginal folk/country, dare I say "Aborigipolitan", singer/songwriter Archie Roach! I also have to remind myself that we are listening to an Englishman singing here not some steeped in country music history American singer. However, hearing words like 'pub' and 'pints to sink' act as reminders of Ags' heritage. Gowan yer sel big man, as we say in Glesca!
Nico Bruce
I also wish to mention the sterling work meted out by Nico Bruce on the upright double bass. Apparently Nico and Ags met over the weekend and yet he played like a pro! Actually, Nico is a real pro, having had stints along side Stuart in a Proclaimers line up for a few years, so no slouch there then, eh? The slow playing on the down low number Get Out Of My Mind was a joy to listen to from all three musicians and both Stuart and Nico filled out the song wonderfully. Mr Connolly can also write some roust-a-bout tunes in the train track rhythm of the late, great Johnny Cash, just check out the beat filled number off the album called The Dim And Distant Past (one of only two songs from the album not showcased). Indeed, I urge you all to check out the album which has been described as “One of the best records you are likely to hear this year…so strong is Connolly’s writing, dare I suggest that Ags Connolly is the closest we’ve ever come to an English Willie Nelson? Yes, he’s really that good, and his voice is unique.” (Duncan Warwick, Country Music People - 5/5, Album of the Month). No slouch there either, eh?
I would like to highlight one other song and that is I Saw James Hand which being somewhat autobiographical has the following line in it:
"If I didn't know I was country, then that made up my mind. When I saw James Hand, in London first time."
It hints at the journey Ags travelled from tentative, toe dipper to fully submerged, dripping wet bona fide country singer. At the gig Ags explained that he often gets blank looks when he mentions James Hand, however, there were several in the room who were familiar with him and I for one have enjoyed his work especially the album Mighty Lonesome Man.
Then, after Trusty Companion, Bruce and Stuart left the stage and Ags played out the final two songs solo on his electrified acoustic guitar. It was great to hear the stripped down versions of the work and I didn't think the songs missed the backing accompaniment. It is I think a testament to the strength of the bare bones of Ags' work that the songs worked just as well solo. And so after a short, sharp, stunning, scintillating nine song introduction to the world of Ags Connolly we whooped and hollered our appreciation and I hope that it isn't too long before I am able to sit/stand/stomp/clap and enjoy hearing this man's music again. In the meantime, I have How About Now........
And so it was off to the O2 ABC Academy once again. This venue is turning out to be a regular 'haunt' for me which is not a bad thing as the acoustics are better than some venues in town. Conor Oberst and his pals Dawes had chosen to visit our fair city on 'Fair Monday' which is the holiday Monday of the historical 'fair fortnight' period here in Glasgow. In former times the lads would have been lucky to muster half a dozen punters to attend, however, times have changed (as predicted by Mr Zimmerman back in '64) and the 'Fair' is no longer the time when all Glaswegians take their two week holiday and head off to Blackpool, Arran, Millport et al!
Climbing the narrow, dingy old staircase up to the venue we passed numerous posters advertising coming events and I was reminded just how well served we are here for bands. Indeed, this was to be my second of three gigs this week! We got into the hall at about 7:10 and set up camp at the barrier in front of the main bar. This affords a reasonably elevated view of the stage and avoids the crush of the main area, a bonus at my age! At 19:30 Dawes ambled on stage and blasted off with the pumpin', poundin' rhythm of From A Window Seat and the gig was off and running.
Dawes are one of my current favourite bands and I was lucky enough to catch them twice over one weekend last year (you can find the reviews on my blog). Taylor Goldsmith (looking a great deal less hirsute than last time he was in town!) is a great guitarist in my view and his voice is strong and resonant. The rest of the band have evolved into a tight, smooth rocking machine and tonight they played six songs from their back catalogue of three albums plus a new song. I felt that their stint as Conor's 'house band' has improved their sound as they have added 'space' to their work. This allows for more intricate and interesting solos and each of the lads used their particular 'space' to great effect. I particularly enjoyed the organ / piano work by Tay Strathairn on From The Right Angle and (brother) Griffin Goldsmith's drumming on Fire Away. Meanwhile Wylie Gelber played some solid, fine bass all the time looking nonchalant and laid back. At the end of my review from 2 Sept last year I said, and I quote "Something tells me that the next time I see Dawes it will be in a much bigger venue...." (they were in Broadcast) and lo, here they are again in front of 1,000 or so excited folk in the 1,362 capacity venue. Even the PA going on the blink three tunes in didn't trip the band up as Taylor pick out a fine electric guitar solo whilst the technicians sorted things out. Cool!
There are so many great Dawes songs but naturally as the support act (at this point) we weren't going to get to hear them all, however, I was delighted to hear a new song Right On Time and it was up there with their other work. I was also extremely chuffed when they struck up the slow chugging, organ swirling intro to Time Spent In Los Angeles. And so, after an exhilarating 45 minutes, the lads signed off with a great version of From The Right Angle from last year's Stories Don't End album. This song starts off with a thoughtful lyric:
"You found me on the other side of a looser's wining streak....."
From where I was standing there were no losers and we were all on a wining streak. I for one thoroughly enjoyed the set and I sensed that Dawes had taken on board a few new converts. Wonderful stuff lads, and here's to your next visit.
After a pretty quick turn around Conor Orberst and his 'house band' bounded on to the stage and set off part two of the show with rousing versions of tracks one and two from the latest album Upside Down Mountain - Time forgot & Zigzagging Toward The Light. Given the rather 'thick and sonorous' acoustics in the hall the lyrics were difficult to make out and so the sentiment of these songs was rather lost, however, we were here to have a blast and, two songs in, the audience was hooked.
My introduction to the musical world of Conor Orberst, a 34 year old native of Omaha, Nebraska, was back in 2002 when I came across his Christmas album and I have been interested in his oeuvre ever since. However, this was my first time seeing him live and it was to prove to be a cracker! I have also been enjoying his latest album, which many consider to be his most accessible and accomplished (although I would rate it alongside his eponymous album of 2008) of the 20 or so he has released over the years. Like Ryan Adams, Orberst has been very prolific, if not always hitting the mark, however, Upside Down Mountain hits the spot and performed on the back of the Dawes sound the songs were more raucous, raunchy, riotous and rambunctious! Indeed Hit The Switch from 2005's Digital Ash In A Digital Urn is relatively quite slow burner on album but tonight Taylor and Conor went head to head to create a wonderful guitar trash section which laid the song out in a new light. The two performed more guitar magic on Danny Callahan and the uptempo, jingly (somewhat reminiscent of Shiny Happy People era REM) Bowl Of Oranges.
During the night, Conor moved form acoustic guitar to electric and then to keyboards on If The Brakeman Turns My Way and Lover I Don't Have To Love and his and Tay's 'duets' were a joy to hear. Tay really helped to fill out the organ & piano parts leaving Conor free to concentrate on the guitar and his vocals. I also really enjoyed the fabulous Hammond organ and acoustic guitar interplay between these two at the start of I Got The Reason # 2, sublime!
Then at around 22:13 the band left the stage leaving Conor and Taylor to play some damn fine acoustic and electric guitar on 2005's Lua the opener and single from I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning. The two lads also sang some fine harmonies on this one. There then followed a (mercifully) short break after Conor and Taylor left the stage and the full band returned after about three minutes to perform a rousing three song encore.
They kicked off with Cape Canaveral which allowed Griffen to shine as he effortlessly laid down some intricate and delicate drum notes at the bottom of the song. Meanwhile, the long limbed, laconic and laid back Wylie sat this one out and nodded along, the essence of cool! Next up was probably the song of the night for me, the superb Another Travelin' Song again from the Bright Eyes album I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning. With its Johnny Cash-esque train track rhythm, it's swinging guitar parts and jaunty melody this is as good an alt-country song as you are likely to hear. However, the lyrics tell a more disturbing story than the jovial tune suggests:
Well I dream of dark on the horizon
I dream a desert where the dead lay down
I dream a prostituted child touching an old man in a fast food crowd
Oh yeah, I dreamt a ship was sinking
There was people screaming all around
And I awoke to my alarm clock
It was a pop song, it was playing loud
The resemblance between Conor and Jeffrey Scott Tweedy of Wilco/Uncle Tupelo fame becomes ever clearer on this song too. However, despite its dark lyrics, it certainly had me bouncing along and it had me hoping that we would get an outing of my all time fav Orberst song I Don't Want To Die (In The Hospital) but sadly it was not to be, however, it was just the ticket to help draw things to a close.
And as all good thing must, the show was brought to a pounding, pulsating, pulverising crescendo as the lads fired into Roosevelt Room from 2009's Outer South release. There was a wonderful extended 'work out' towards the end of this one as the band let loose, creating some industrial strength noise with an apocalyptic edge to it. Mighty fine stuff indeed and as the dust settled on another cracking night the audience ambled out onto Sauchiehall St, reflecting on a fantastic night and a wonderful double bill. We had listened to the stupendous Dawes, followed by an outstanding performance from the diminutive, but extremely dynamic Conor Oberst. It certainly rang my bell, floated my boat, rocked my tree, ticked my box or whatever the current fatuous expression for having a wonderful time is! Thanks guys, you helped to make an old man feel happy and young again, a no mean feat!
The petite Erin McKeown, all the way from Fredricksburg, Virginia, walked on stage, plugged her electric guitar in and kicked off her set whilst many of the audience were still chatting and trying to get a drink at the bar at the rear of the venue. However, by halfway through the first song many had hushed and were making their way to the stage to hear her 'stuff'. Looking a little like Imelda May (it was the hair that did it!) Erin powered through her support set and played some fascinating, fuzzed up guitar accompanying her singing and the songs were interesting lyrically. Although a multi-instrumentalist, tonight Erin stuck to her guitar and sang some great songs, I especially liked the one about Judy Garland (one of the many she has written about the lady), The Jailer and the humorous one about American cities Rhode Island Is Famous For You on which she played some cool jazz style guitar!
Check out Erin's web site @ www.erinmckeown.com and you can download a copy of her album Civics.
Jason and the lads where up next and there was a real feeling of anticipation around us, I for one was psyched up for the show as Òran Mór is one of my favourite Glasgow venues and I hadn't seen Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit before. I was not to be disappointed, let me tell you! Incidentally, the venue's name Òran Mór is Gaelic for 'great melody of life' or 'big song' and so was very appropriate.
On stage tonight we had (from our left to right) Sadler Vaden (guitar), Jimbo Hart (bass), Chad Gamble (drums), Jason Isbell (guitar & vocals) & Derry DeBorja (keyboards). The stage at Òran Mór is small and it helped the band connect and play some fine stuff. They were so tight that one would have struggled to get a rizla paper between them! Throughout the set Sadler played so gratifyingly good solos and backed up Jason's guitar work to wonderful effect. And so, at the end of the opener Flying Over Water there was a well deserved explosion of cheering, hollering and general bonhomie and so the band knew that they were in for a great night too.
Jason, looking a tad like a young Orson Welles, sang some superb vocals and played some top notch solos on both electric and acoustic guitars. It is no wonder that (for me) he was a seminal member of the Drive-By Truckers (2001-2007) and tonight he was to perform a number of DBT/JI songs which come from that band's most fertile period. Perhaps my favourite on the night was Goddamn Lonely Love on which Jason played out the song with a great guitar solo and the audience went 'bat shit'! Many of the other songs came from Jason's 2013 album Southeastern and credit to the 400 Unit that they were note perfect throughout, well to my ears anyway!
Talking of the 400 Unit, the name comes the "400 Unit" a former colloquial name of a psychiatric ward in Florence, Alabama. Appropriate? You may think so but I couldn't possibly comment! The band state that their influences include "Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Prince, Led Zeppelin, Free, The Faces, Neutral Milk Hotel, Beatles, Stones, Crowded House, Merle Haggard, Queen, Nirvana, Derek and the Dominos etc", (I've checked out Neutral Milk Hotel and enjoyed them!) so quite an international background and their songs certainly travel well beyond the boundaries of the Southern States. In fact so good are many of the songs that Jason was nominated for best song, best album and best artist of the year for 2014 in the Americana Music Associations honours awards. Yip he is that good and perhaps much credit should also go to Mrs Isbell - Amanda Shires, the Texan singer and violin player who help Jason back onto the 'righteous path'. Behind every great man......
Writing about the song Decoration Day, based on a story about Jason's family members, Nick Rynerson attests that Isbell has "done what a long line of storytellers have done before him: giving us tangible truth in a beautiful, unquantifiable parable". (You can see Nick Rynerson's article about the song @ www.patheos.com....) Certainly the lyrics make one think about the human condition:
It’s Decoration Day
and I’ve got a family in Mobile Bay
and they’ve never seen my Daddy’s grave.
But that don’t bother me, it ain’t marked anyway.
Cause I got dead brothers in Lauderdale south
and I got dead brothers in east Tennessee.
My Daddy got shot right in front of his house
he had no one to fall on but me.
In addition to the music we also saw a humorous side to Jason Isbell, for example when he recounted a story about Chet Atkins being praised for the fabulous music his guitar produced to which he retorted on placing the guitar back in a stand "So, how's it doing now?"! And on another occasion thanking us for enjoying the new songs so much, he likened it to the feeling one gets when the neighbours meet the youngest kids, and thinking what if they don't like them? Well no fears on that score, as neighbours - albeit on the other side of a rather large pond - we loved the new kids and we would love him to brings them around again!
On a musical note, the 5 guys on stage all contributed greatly to a grand night. From Sadler's fine solos on Decoration Day, Heart On A String and some smooth slide guitar on Cover Me Up, to Jimbo Hart's studied playing on the heart rending Elephant and his pounding and pulsating playing on Never Gonna Change, to Chad Gamble's subtle brush work on Stockholm, Travelling Alone & Codeine and his general drumming on the likes of
Different Days and Derry Deborja's sympathetic keyboards on Relatively Easy, Songs That She Sang In The Shower and his "gypsy typewriter" (accordion) on New South Wales. Then finally, we had Jason Isbell whose singing was especially powerful on Cover Me Up and his guitar playing ranged from delicate on Goddamn Lonely Love to grunge on Never Gonna Change.
I mentioned earlier that I consider Jason Isbell to have been an integral part of the DBTs and tonight he showed just how well he plays guitar and sings superbly written songs. Perhaps the best song of the night was the emotive, moving and desperately sad Elephant from his current album. It is another example of how he is able, like Springsteen, to tell a deep and meaningful story in a few short verses.
She said Andy you crack me up,
Seagrams in a coffee cup,
sharecropper eyes and her hair almost all gone.
When she was drunk she made cancer jokes,
she made up her own doctor's notes,
surrounded by her family, I saw that she was dying alone.
It brings to mind some of the songs on Ryan Adams' Love Is Hell album which deals with the same tragic, personal loss. On a lighter note, Super 8 could have been written by Adams and was a great song to end the show on, being as it is, a great rock n' roll song with a catchy sing-a-long chorus. The audience danced and sang along as the show came to a rocking finale. Indeed, Jason explained that due to the curfew they would forgo the usual leaving stage, wait, return and play an encore part of the show and they blasted straight into Super 8 after the last song I wish to highlight, the wonderful Outfit. This is another autobiographical number and was written for Jason's dad who was a house painter to trade.
You wanna grow up to paint houses like me
With a trailer in my yard till you're 23
You wanna feel old after 42 years
Keep dropping the hammer and grinding the gear
The song is packed full of good advice and gives a nod to John Lennon with the line "Don't tell them you're bigger than Jesus" and advises one "Don't worry about losing your accent, cause a Southern Man tells better jokes"! And so the curtain came down metaphorically on another cracking gig. We had danced and sang. We had laughed and been brought near to tears and as we left the crypt of the former Kelvinside Parish Church, and spilled out onto Great Western Road we had a new musical experience to look back on with joy and delight.
Stockholm Tour Of Duty Decoration Day (Drive-By Truckers cover) Goddamn Lonely Love (Drive-By Truckers cover) Heart On A String (Candi Staton cover) Different Days Live Oak Alabama Pines Cover Me Up Relatively Easy Songs That She Sang In The Shower New South Wales Codeine Travelling Alone Elephant Never Gonna Change (Drive-By Truckers cover) Outfit (Drive-By Truckers cover)
The support act on the night were the 4 piece Heartless Bastards, who also supported the Drive-by Truckers back in 2004 according to vocalist Erika Wennerstrom. They are a garage, rock, grunge band from Cincinnati, Ohio, and they started the night off at around 7:30, running through a short, energetic, pumped up set. I really enjoyed the guitar work by both Erika and Mark Nathan and the extended live work out on several of their songs, particularly Simple Feeling, got the sparse crowd energised. Jesse Ebaugh (bass) and Dave Colvin (drums) kept things pounding along purposefully and many of the audience seemed enthusiastic and appreciative of the set. I also liked the final number, Low Low Low I think, which had a heavy country feel to it and it brought the first part of the gig to a fine ending.
By now the hall was starting to fill up and the age range was as diverse as I have seen for a while, a sure sign that the main event appeals to all comers! Also, and against current trends, the DBTs bounded onto the stage at about 20:40, some twenty minutes earlier than might have been expected. Patterson Hood later advised that their previous gig had had a tight curfew and that explained the eager start, they had a lot to get through after all!
So with a new album to promote, their tenth since 1998's debut Gangstabilly, it was perhaps inevitable that they would kick things off with track one from the current record English Oceans. What was immediately obvious was just how much Jay Gonzalez adds to the live sound. His guitar and keyboard work was fantastic and really augmented the sound, filling out, lifting up, driving on and generally enhancing the sonic experience. When one considers the ability of both Patterson and Mike on guitar, that is a compliment indeed.
The two front men traded songs, each singing lead in turn and occasionally helping out on duets and this is another of the bands real plus points for me. Mike and Patterson have very strong and distinctly different voices and so they can tell very different stories within the same band structure. Another major plus is the 3 three guitar set up which also allows great diversity to emerge in any given song. Indeed in several songs, Hell No, I Ain't Happy, Ronnie & Neil and Grand Canyon as examples, the trading between Mike, Jay and Patterson was mesmeric and awesome. I guess modelling oneself on Lynyrd Skynyrd makes great sense even if you call yourselves "Betamax Guillotine"!
So, for those who are new to the Drive-By Truckers, here is a brief précis: Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley formed the band in 1996 in that hot bed of music ingenuity Athens, Georgia (sometimes called the Liverpool of the South) and home to R.E.M and the B 52's amongst others and a cauldron for Appalachian bluegrass. The two lads had previously been members of Adam's House Cat, and an album called Town Burned Down exists and I would urge you to check it out if possible as you can hear the seeds of what was to blossom in to DBTs. Over the intervening years folk have come and gone and they all added to the band as they built their reputation. I would like to highlight two former members in particular, (formerly husband and wife) singer/songwriter/guitarist Jason Isbell (who will be in Glasgow on 17 May 2014) and bassist and vocalist Shonna Tucker of whom Hood said "her charm and spark will be irreplaceable and her part in our last decade of this band's history is indisputable." I for one will miss her vocal talents as her singing added another glorious dimension to the ensemble (check out her wonderful rendition of the Eddie Hinton song Where's Eddie from the Go-Go Boots album). So that brings us to today's lineup: Patterson Hood – guitar, vocals, bass, banjo, mandolin (1996 – present), Mike Cooley – guitar, vocals, bass, banjo, harmonica (1996 – present), Brad Morgan – drums (1999 – present), Jay Gonzalez – keyboards, guitar, vocals (2008 – present), Matt Patton – bass, vocals (2012 – present) and a damned fine band they make too in my humble opinion!
Next out the traps was When He's Gone on which Jay played some wonderful organ parts and my companion Nadia (a DBTs virgin!) said it reminded her of Neil Young which is not surprising as the great man gets a few name checks in the band's back catalogue, not least star billing on Ronnie & Neil on which Mike played some grand guitar with added "wah wah"!
I would also like to highlight Jay's keyboard work, both piano and organ, on Drag The Lake Charlie, Primer Coat, 72 (This Highway's Mean) and Marry Me on which he played piano left handed and guitar right!
Another stand out for me was Putting People On The Moon during which Brad, looking like a latter-day Otis Gibbs (if that's possible!), played some mighty fine, steady, stentorian drumming on the extended workout. The song includes the following lyrics:
“Mary Alice got cancer just like everybody here
Seems everyone I know is gettin’ cancer every year
And we can’t afford no insurance, I been 10 years unemployed
So she didn’t get no chemo so our lives they was destroyed
And nothing ever changes, the cemetery gets more full
And now over there in Huntsville, even NASA’s shut down too
Another joker in the White House, said a change was coming ‘round
but I’m still working at the Wal-Mart and Mary Alice in the ground.”
This brings me to another thing that attracts me to this band, the lyrics. They are often thought provoking (as above), laugh out loud as in Cartoon Gold or Get Downtown, or just telling stories about weird and wonderful folks as in When Walter Went Crazy or Drag The Lake Charlie.
Meanwhile, Matt Patton keep the beat rocking along as he worked up a sweat pounding out rhythms on his bass. I really enjoyed his playing on Uncle Frank and Grand Canyon and his playing and backing vocals on Hell No, I Ain't Happy added an extra dimension to the song which also included three great guitar solos from Jay, Patterson and Mike.
There was also a rather surreal moment during Girls Who Smoke when the lighting crew shone lights on the oversized glitter ball suspended above our heads sending shards of light out amongst the audience picking out a shaved head here, a grey haired old gezzer there and numerous bouncin' an boppin' folk all having a great time.
Then The guys took us back to the early days with Ronnie & Neil, 72 (This Highway's Mean) and 18 Wheels Of Love which Patterson dedicated to his wife Rebecca and his Mum (for Mother's Day) and her man Chester, a DBTs fan. This nostalgic episode extended into the encore when the band played three more older tunes including Let There Be Rock during which Patterson sang that he never saw the Clash, but he did see the Replacements and R.E.M! Then coming full circle they closed with the last song from the current album Grand Canyon. This turned into a lengthy mesmerising number and at one point Jay and Patterson were sitting on the stage trading guitar licks and rasping guitar necks over each other! As the instrumental part of the song became mantra-esque Patterson took his leave, followed shortly thereafter by Mike leaving the rest of the guys to play out the song. Then Jay set his guitar up to produce fuzzed up feed back and he too left the stage allowing Brad and Matt to pound out an accompanying beat. We were groovin', movin', ecstatic and exhilarated as Matt took his bow and headed off stage right leaving Brad to hold the beat under a blaze of light, then finally he too, left us as Jay's guitar continued to feed back and the lights went down on a wonderful night of great lyrics, wonderful singing, fantastic guitar playing, fabulous keyboards, energetic bass and beat perfect drumming. The audiences were delighted and we all trudged out onto Sauchiehall Street eagerly discussing the personal highlights from a memorable gig. One that will surely be a year highlight.
Cheers lads, and haste ye back.
20:40
Shit Shots Count
When He's Gone
Gravity's Gone
Drag The Lake Charlie
Primer Coat
My Sweet Annette
Uncle Frank
Putting People On The Moon
Made Up English Oceans
Girls Who Smoke
Hearing Jimmy Loud
Ronnie & Neil
72 (This Highway's Mean)
18 Wheels Of Love
Marry Me
Hell No, I Ain't Happy
22:02
Encore
22:09
3 Dimes Down
Let There Be Rock
Zip City
Grand Canyon
