The New Mendicants at Bowlers Bar

'A Guinness please.'

'That'll be £2.70'

Result!

A Tuesday night in Bridgeton soundtracked by the beautiful voices and songwriting talents of Norman Blake and Joe Pernice and £2.70 a pint of Guinness. If Guinness did gigs in small East End Bars....

The New Mendicants are Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub) and Joe Pernice (The Pernice Brothers), thrown together by chance (neighbours in Canada) and a Nick Hornby novel. Their debut album Into The Lime showcased their songwriting talents and harmonies, put them in a room with a couple of acoustic guitars and a glockenspiel and they are an absolute joy to watch.

I debated whether to drive to the venue or get the train and have a couple of midweek drinks. As the gig was in such a different venue, it was 13-minutes on the train from Uddingston to Bridgeton and the venue was a stones throw from the station; I opted for the drinks and was pleasantly surprised by the price of a pint.

My brother was running a little late so I waited outside for a wee while, long enough for a young guy to walk by and offer 2 smokers the chance to buy a £350 bike for £50....

I decided to just head in and leave Ross' ticket at the door. My friends Lorna and Colin were in, so I grabbed a Guiness (did i mention it was £2.70 a pint?) and caught up with them while watching the end of support act Ella the Bird who had a gorgeous voice and looked pretty gorgeous as well.

Ross arrived and we headed towards the front of the small bar to catch up with fellow Fanclub nuts Barry and Macca. Both were in good form and looking forward to the bands forthcoming show at Kelvingrove Bandstand.

Joe and Norman worked on a list of songs as they prepared to get underway. It was a lovely informal show.

Norman ponders what gems to select from over a Guinness

Songs from The New Mendicants album opened the show; Sarasota and Cruel Annette. The duo joked about not seeing each other in a while (Norman has been in and around Glasgow working on the new Fanclub album) and remembering the songs, keys and chords.

They gelled effortlessly and good humour was evident throughout the show. Joe joked about Norman emailing him to say he got their tour expenses down to £178 - Norman mentioned that this was because they were staying at his parents after every show - including those in Inverness and Aberdeen, adding 'don't worry Joe, Bellshill is a 45 minute drive from everywhere.'

Follow You Down was sung beautifully, the cover of Sandy Denny's By The Time It Gets Dark was spine tinglingly good.

Blake and Pernice 

It was then time for what I can only describe as a friendly game of top trumps, with Norman and Joe taking it in turns to play a song they had written.

Joe played some crackers including; There Goes The Sun, A Penthouse In The Woods (about finding porn mags in the woods as a kid) and a stunner called The Loving Kind. (forgive me for not knowing/remembering other titles)

Norman dug into his back catalogue and brought out You Was Me (from the Jonny album) Dark and Lonely, I Don't Want Control Of You, Baby Lee, a really brilliant Everything Flows at the request of Joe. Did I Say is one of the best songs Norman has written - and that is saying something. Hearing it stripped back to the bones is a joy.

Hey, did I day, I don't mind if you want to go back

To the lake where you learned how to swim with the sun

Beating down on your back in the morning of dawn

For you girl, are you waiting for me?

I'm sure that the two could have played for another hour or two with ease. It was fantastic to watch two genuinely brilliant songwriters displaying their craft in such a unique environment.

As it was time got the better of us and it was time to head for the train - which was delayed, then cancelled and Scot Rail got me a taxi home. Maybe I should just have driven after all!

The East End Social and Edwyn Collins at Glasgow Green

I last blogged about Edwyn Collins back in June following an outstanding performance at Oran Mor. In the blog I said that I would love to see him do a full stripped back acoustic set at some point.

Well the Gods must have been smiling upon me as on Saturday Edwyn travelled North to play an acoustic show for the East End Social at Glasgow Green as part of the Commonwealth Games. Not only that - it was completely free!

The team behind the East End Social must be heartily commended for the exceptional programme of music that they have curated before, during and after the Games. There have been pop up shows in Dennistoun, a Neu! Reekie extravaganza at Platform in Easterhouse, shows in teeny tiny Bowlers bar in Bridgeton, we had a full on festival at Glasgow Green over the weekend and things are due to be brought to a close in epic style at the end of August with a weekend in Richmond Park featuring Mogwai headlining one night and Optimo the second!

The blank canvas that the team were given has been coloured in beautifully; legends, innovators, cult bands, young bands breaking through and everything in between have been given a chance to demonstrate the musical talent and variety that is on offer in the city of Glasgow.

To be quite honest, it is music that has been the highlight of the Commonwealth Games for me. The East End Social is one thing, there has also been the Belle and Sebastian show at Kelvingrove Bandstand (also loads of free shows there as well as stuff by the likes of The Waterboys) and all kinds of things going on down by the waterfront at the BBC featuring the likes of Simple Minds and the gorgeous Rachel Sermanni.

I could have done with a few weeks off to try and make the most of it!

Anyway, back to Edwyn at Glasgow Green.

Edwyn was thankfully playing inside a beautiful big tent called The Playhouse. I would love to see it installed permanently on the Green, it was a brilliant venue.

What made this show extra special was the fact that we took our 3-year old daughter Zoe. It was her first full gig -quite something for a 3-year old!

There were a number of young families down the front, so we got down and grabbed a seat on the floor, the friendly crowd stood behind the young kids, allowing them the chance to sit and watch a master at close quarters.

Zoe watching Edwyn and James

Edwyn was accompanied by the guitar virtuoso that is James Walbourne and there was a clear bond between the two, despite the fact Edwyn forgot his surname; causing laughter on stage and in the crowd and becoming a running joke.

The duo opened with Losing Sleep and Make Me Feel Again, the tent was packed - due to the fact that a genuine Scottish musical legend was playing - and the rain. People were listening from outside according to friends I spoke to later.

Edwyn was in great form, getting more and more into it the longer the show went on.

Home Again was exquisite; full of melody and emotion. It was my first time hearing it live since reading Grace Maxwell's book Falling and Laughing - The Restoration of Edwyn Collins. I had a little tear in my eye.

When I was a boy

Well I heard somebody singing

And I heard the guitars ringing

And it brought me home again

Home again

James was truly brilliant on the guitar, able to play anything and everything - and that is exactly what they did; delighting the crowd with Orange Juice classics Blue Boy, Falling and Laughing and Rip it Up.

Rip It Up was great fun with Edwyn egging James on and taking the mick in just the right way. The crowd loved it.

Don't Shilly Shally was brilliant and I was a proud Dad as Zoe clapped along and nodded her head.

A Girl Like You closed things in style with Edwyn humming along with the melody and congratulating James on his guitar playing.

This was a great little show. I'd love to see Edwyn play his songs in this stripped down acoustic way again in the future.