Belle and Sebastian, Mogwai and friends. Charity Gig, Glasgow

Child Refugee Crisis Appeal, Save The Children Fundraising Concert, Glasgow. November 2015

With the refugee crisis in Europe making headlines around the world, local band Belle and Sebastian announced that they would perform in Glasgow to raise funds to help. Belle and Sebastian were soon joined in the line up by Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill (of Simple Minds), Franz Ferdinand, Mogwai, Young Fathers and comedian Josie Long. The point of the concert was to raise money for the Child Refugee Crisis Appeal for Save the Children UK. The gig website stated that 

"Belle and Sebastian, humbly, and with a good will, wish to stand behind the displaced peoples of Syria in their brave attempt to find a better life in Europe. If governments won't help them, then the people must. "

If you are able to contribute to the fundraising appeal, there is information on how to do this via the Save The Children website here.

Neil from Save The Children reminding us why we are here

As for the gig itself it seems churlish to review it as a gig, as the whole point of the evening was to raise money and spread goodwill, but it consisted of a lot of great Scottish bands that I've seen already many times over. So for me the whole evening was just a great big treat. Without meaning to, I ended up getting seats in the front row, which was odd. The Armadillo is such a nice, sedate venue with comfy seats, and they let you take glass bottles to your seat. I was overly aware that about the only row of seats that the bands could see from the stage was the one which had me and my brother sitting in it so I was smiling and on best behaviour. It was a line up that required standing up and swaying, but we just sat back and let them entertain us.

Young Fathers

Edinburgh trio Young Fathers opened the evening. They have been outspoken on immigration and refugee issues before. Their current tour is titled "We Are All Migrants" and in 2014 I had seen them perform at a World Refugee Day gig in the Old Fruitmarket. They are a phenomenal live act and this is the fourth or fifth time I have seen them live. As the earliest act, whilst people are still arriving they didn't let that distract them and just battered out their tunes. They got us to make some noise if we agreed that "Glasgow welcomes refugees". We obliged. I really hope that it is true, as I love my city and don't want to view it through rose-tinted spectacles, but I think that we've got a good record on this. I hope the council step up and offer homes to the people desperately needing them just now, who could bring so much to our city.

If you get the chance ever to see Young Fathers live I would encourage you to take it, as they are a phenomenal act.

Josie Long doing a gag about English politics and transport in London

Comedian Josie Long briefly made an appearance as compere. Her 15 minutes was enough to get the stage set for Mogwai. Post-rock behemoths Mogwai have just released an excellent retrospective compilation, "Central Belters", to mark their 20th year and in June played two nights at the Barrowlands to mark the anniversary.

Dominic Aitchison and Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai

 I love the way that they set up on stage, with a big gap at the middle and the music taking centre stage. They played a barn-storming 45 minutes set, finishing with "Remurdered" from their latest album, Rave Tapes.

Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand

Next up were Franz Ferdinand. They have recently been touring as one half of supergroup FFS, with the Mael brothers of Sparks, on the back of their recent collaborative album. I have seen them performing recently as FFS and previously playing the Barrowlands a few years ago as Franz Ferdinand and they are another great live act. Lead singer Alex Kapranos was the first of two ex-members of Glasgow ska stalwarts The Amphetameanies up on stage tonight. They battered through their hits, raised an arch eyebrow and bid us farewell. Entertaining as always.

Belle and Sebastian giving it laldy

Scottish indie band Belle and Sebastian were the organisers of this whole event. Only a few months ago they had played across the car park from tonight's venue at the Hydro, as part of their ongoing world tour. Maybe it was because I was sat in the front row, but tonight's gig seemed a much more comfortable and homely affair for them. As is their want, they got people up to dance, much to the annoyance of the unnecessarily officious stewards at the venue. Really, is a Belle and Sebastian crowd going to start a riot? Lovely to hear some of the best tracks off of their latest album (Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance) plus a couple from If You're Feeling Sinister (Stars of Track and Field and Judy and the Dream of Horses.) They are always best when they've got a bit of brass backing them up and it was great to see Mick Cooke playing with them again (ex-Amphetameanie).

The Simple Minds/ Belle and Sebastian supergroup

The evening finished with the slightly surreal sight of Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill (off of Simple Minds) coming onto the stage to sing, with Belle and Sebastian as their backing band. If, like me, you went to school in the west of Scotland in the 1980s Simple Minds were omnipresent. I was too cool to be into them, but if you were ever on one of those new fangled telephone chatlines at that time, a standard opening gambit would be "What bands are you into, I like U2 and Simple Minds?"

Before Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill performed as Simple Minds, they were seen playing in Glasgow by my mum and dad in about 1977, when they were in punk band Johnny and the Self Abusers. I myself have bizarrely seen them perform twice before. I saw Simple Minds play at Wembley in 1988 when I drove down with my brother to the Nelson Mandela 70th birthday concert and they seemed to play at a fair few things last year at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, one of which I stumbled upon at the BBC building. Although most of the people dancing down in front of the stage wouldn't have been born when they were released, we got a rendition of Promised You a Miracle and Don't You Forget About Me (as featured in The Breakfast Club). Bonkers end to a fantastic night's entertainment.

Jim Kerr hamming it up in front of the
Save The Children logo (what a pro!)

If you are able to contribute to the fundraising appeal, there is information on how to do so on the Save The Children UK website here.

Mogwai's 20th Anniversary and West End Festival All-dayer

Live review Mogwai 20th Anniversary gig, Barrowlands, Glasgow. 20 June 2015
Live review - West End Festival ALl-dayer, Oran Mor, Glasgow. 21 June 2015

This weekend there was a spectacular amount of good music performed in Glasgow, which I was lucky enough to see. Local heroes Mogwai are playing a series of 20th anniversary gigs just now and did two sold out nights at the Barrowlands in Glasgow. We pitched up early on the first of these nights, as they had added to a celebratory atmosphere with some excellent support acts.

First up was Pye Corner Audio, noodling away onstage as the crowd arrived. Good to see him perform but listening to it at home it has an old fashioned electronica, John Carpenter-style feel that is maybe better suited to hearing in a dark basement than the Barrowlands Ballroom. 

Without much time for chin stroking, Prolapse were up next. They are a band which passed me by in the early 1990s, their stated aim at that time "of being the most depressing band ever". If Mogwai are classified as post-rock, this was post-punk and probably the highlight of an entertaining evening. Playing together after a few years off they were tense and crackling on stage. "Scottish Mick"  Derrick and Linda Steelard prowled about on stage with the threat of pent up violence hanging over them the whole time. Thankfully they (just about) didn't come to blows on stage. 

Loop were up next, a band I remember more for their wavy flag logo than their music, but my pal accompanying me tonight is a big fan. They have also re-formed after a hiatus of a few years to tour again. Their looping guitars and droning noise place them somewhere between Motorhead and My Blood Valentine at times, but the grey haired, Paul Weller styled frontman, Robert Hampson, steers them away from this.

Mogwai on stage at The Barrowlands

If you've read any other blogs that I've written here you will know that I've seen Mogwai a few times over the years, so it was great to see them again. I'm delighted to read today that they plan to bring out a retrospective box set, "Central Belters" (nice title) in October too. I won't say much about their full-throttled set other than to note that they moved away from their stereotyped quietquietLOUD to give us two hours of loudloudquietLOUD tonight, no place for the likes of their recent gentle, and successful, Les Revenants soundtrack material. It is years since I have seen them play in the Barrowlands and it really is the perfect venue for them. Nice to see Aidan Moffat join them on stage for a rendition of "R U Still In 2 It" too.

One final mention for their excellent 20th anniversary T-shirts, featuring the original Star Wars arcade game, which I guess must be at least 20 years old too. This game (or maybe Moon Cresta) was my all time favourite to play in Treasure Island on Jamaica Street circa 1985 and I was great at it, so I had to get one.

Oran Mor West End Festival All-dayer

Having been very abstemious all night on Saturday as I was running the Men's 10k through the streets of Glasgow on Sunday morning, I was able to relax on Sunday afternoon at the West End Festival all-dayer. A mouthwatering array of local musicians was on offer across three venues within the venerable old church-come-pub and club.

Main auditorium, Oran Mor

Every time I have been to a gig in the main auditorium upstairs the performers on stage beneath Alastair Gray's spectacular murals are competing to be heard over the bar at the other end of the room, which itself is raised up on a slightly higher stage. It cannot be that this place just attracts the rudest of crowds, but has to be down to the shape and acoustics of the place. Fine for a wedding band maybe, not the ideal place to hear the quiet musings of recent Scottish Album of the Year Award winner, Aberdonian Kathryn Joseph. In front of a crowd of those curious to see her after winning the award, her ethereal singing and playing led me to buy her album to listen to it again more closely.

After that we grabbed some food then headed downstairs to The Venue in the basement to hear Man Of Moon, who describe themselves as a "psychedelic two piece". Wearing their influences on their chest, with a Lou Reed T-shirt on, they managed to create their own sound and were good live.

Remember Remember perform for the last time

If Mogwai can conjure up a dark Winter's day in the West of Scotland with their music, then nobody does the sunshine of a Spring morning, sparkling on the early dew, better than the band Remember Remember. I  first saw Remember Remember when they were just Graeme Ronald playing spoons, scissors and various instruments through loops to build a sound picture. They progressed into an impressive instrumental band with three excellent albums to their name, but have now decided to call it a day and announced that their Oran Mor show would be their farewell gig. Lovely as ever and I'm sorry to see them call it a day. I headed home later with an 'E' that Graeme had chucked into the crowd to help me remember Remember Remember. 

Back upstairs to see the ever entertaining and former Scottish Album of the Year award winner RM Hubbert strumming his stuff. He took a more direct (and successful) approach to those who continued to chat away at the bar over his performance. Shouting "Will youse shut the fuck up!" is something I hope Kathryn Joseph doesn't need to add to her stage persona. Nice to see Aidan Moffat joining Hubby on stage to provide the vocals for "Car Song". Passing up the chance to see We Were Promised Jetpacks and The Phantom Band we headed back downstairs to see a great set by Stanley Odd. I haven't ever seen him perform before, although his song to his child, "Son I Voted Yes", was widely circulated after the referendum verdict. Scottish accented hip-hop is a niche market I suspect, but his energy is contagious and his lyrics sharp, witty and political. Fellow vocalist Veronika Electronika (do you think that's her real name?) has a fantastic voice too over various different styles. Nicely done.

Sorry, but whenever we see Bill Wells perform I immediately
see Raymond Briggs's Father Christmas

I finished my weekend of music with Aidan Moffat and Bill Wells playing songs from the two albums that they have collaborated on. Accompanied by a great band of musicians playing assorted instruments, there was Bill on piano and Mr Moffat out front with percussion and vocals. They played a subdued set with a delicate, jazz-inflected atmosphere and it was nice to hear one of my favourites, "The Copper Top" again alongside material from "The Most Important Place In The World". A lovely way to end a great weekend of music. 

Celtic Connections: Mogwai and RM Hubbert

RM Hubbert and Mogwai, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. 28th Jan 2014. Live gig review.

Mogwai have been producing their guitar based, post-rock tunes for almost 20 years now and I've seen them play various venues in that time, including a gap site in Glasgow city centre last year. I hadn't ever really expected to watch them play in the civilised surroundings of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall though. However, there they were last night performing a sell-out show in the 2500 capacity hall as part of the annual Celtic Connections festival.

Despite the longevity of their career, they seem to be going from strength to strength and continue to produce new and interesting music. Perhaps they show that if you keep banging away at something you believe is good, eventually the rest of the world will catch on. Certainly their fabulous, unsettling soundtrack for the French television series The Returned/ Les Revenants has exposed a lot of new people to their music. That album also demonstrated the atmospheric, storytelling quality to some of their instrumental music. Their latest album, Rave Tapes, has given them their first ever entry in the top ten but has all the familiar elements of their quiet/loud music, with explosions of guitar noise mixing with more prominent keyboard sounds. Like a lot of their music, hearing the album is one thing but seeing it played lived is another thing altogether. That was one question I had about the concert tonight. How would their music cope in a big airy room designed for orchestral music rather than the dark, sweaty Barrowlands?

First up to test the acoustics of the building was RM Hubbert, winner of last year's Scottish Album of the Year award for Thirteen Lost & Found. Since then he has released Breaks & Bones filled with his Spanish guitar playing and also more singing from the man himself. I've seen him umpteen times before, but in smaller venues, intimate gigs where he talks away to his audience like a man at confession. He himself admitted to being a wee bit nervous playing on this broad stage, out their alone with his guitar ("I'm shite-ing myself" was the way he put it). However he soon got into his stride. His music carried to the back of the auditorium as well here as it does in smaller clubs, as did his self-deprecating humour. The set was as good as I've seen before, with a broader range of stuff from his three albums to call upon. Although Mogwai were the main draw, it was almost a shame when he announced his last song, with Aidan Moffat coming on to provide the vocals for "Car Song" as his finale.

The concert hall was set up as I've never seen it before. The stalls seating was all taken out at the front half of the ground floor, creating a large standing area, whilst we sat upstairs in the comfy seats. There were also lots of people standing behind the seated areas in the balconies. From the opening chords of Mogwai's set we had suddenly shifted from quiet plucked guitar strings and jokey chat, to full throated electronic guitar noise, an exaggerated example of the quiet/loud dynamic you would expect at a Mogwai gig. Set up as usual with no front man, a crescent around an empty front of stage, they launched into "Heard About You Last Night" from Rave Tapes. The new material worked so well on full volume here, the acoustics of the hall carrying every reverberating sound around the room. "Remurdered" stands out from the new stuff with its hints of techno keyboards building up and becoming more menacing as it goes on. Three tracks from "Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will" showed the high quality of their recent output, particularly "Rano Pano". A brief technical hitch brought the "Mexican Grand Prix" to a crashing halt, but a quick joke from Stuart Braithwaite as the marshal and they were off again. Always serious, but never po-faced.

They finished the encore with "Mogwai Fear Satan" which, even though I knew it was coming, made me jump out of my seat when it blasted into raucous life two thirds of the way through.

The volume was still up there with anything I've seen, but I didn't leave the gig with the tinnitus I sometimes have done with their shows. Maybe it was the venue, or my seat upstairs instead of standing in front of the amps, but I enjoyed being able listen to the more subtle bits in there. Also they are a fantastic live act and one I would encourage anyone to try and see.