Tim Burgess at Oran Mor

Why do people go to gigs and chat?

Ok, you need to talk at times during a gig;

'He nailed that', 'beautiful version', 'on form tonight', 'oh they fucked that up'......but the volume of chat during last nights Tim Burgess show at Oran Mor was ridiculous, half the venue must have been chatting during the quieter moments, either that or texting. The mind boggles.

Thankfully it didn't ruin what was a brilliant gig and I pushed further forwards to be treated to a sublime version of 'A Case Of Vinyl' with Martin Duffy on piano/keys playing a blinder.

Support came from The Velveteen Saints who I have blogged about before - check them out here. They played a short, sharp and energetic set and I'll be writing about them in more depth following their next Glasgow show at Sleazys in November. 

Further support came from the Hatcham Social and 3 of the band went on to back Tim during his performance. They had their moments, most noticeably with 'Crocodile'.

Tim bounded on to the stage to greet his adoring masses and I have to admit to being surprised by his choice of set opener, it was a bold choice to play 'Tobacco Fields', a stand out track from his album (reviewed here). Electric guitar combined well with Mark Collins on acoustic and the band showed great confidence in taking their time to let the song build.

The pace picked up with one of the highlights of the night, 'The Economy' with Burgess getting the falsetto spot on. His voice is getting stronger and better with age.

Tim was on great form, there was banter and handshakes with the crowd and disbelief that someone had a tattoo of his signature on their arm.

The airing of 'We All Need Love' and 'Oh My Corozon' (from Tim's first solo album) with their big choruses and upbeat sunshine pop vibes lifted the crowd and were real highlights.

There was a real sense of freedom from the performance, there is no denying Burgess is a great front man but his performance last night showed him to be a leader and motivator as well, linking closely with Collins in particular, he was down on his knees in front of Collins for a sublime version of 'A Case Of Vinyl' with Martin Duffy from Primal Scream playing some spellbinding and spine tingling notes on piano.

'The Great Outdoors Bitches' was another highlight, as was 'The Graduate', Tim bounding and dancing to the country vibes.

There was a short break before and encore of 'A Gain' with the backing band on superb form for the harmonies and gospel section, Tim was right on the lip of the stage, arms aloft for the refrain;

I'll not brave the dancefloor for you (Again)

'White' ended proceedings, northern soul mixed up in a Melting Pot with Americana vibes.

I look forward to finding out what Tim comes up with next.