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!

Into the Lime by The New Mendicants

The New Mendicants are Norman Blake and Joe Pernice, two long term friends who suddenly found themselves neighbours after Blake moved to Canada with his family.

The story behind their album is that Nick Hornby asked them to record an album to soundtrack a film that was being made based on one of his books - A Long Way Down. The music the duo created never made it to the big screen (yet), however it has been released in the form of 'Into the Lime' on One Little Indian Records.

10-tracks come in at just over 30-minutes, during that time we are treated to some fine examples of songwriting, gorgeous harmonies and the sound of two friends enjoying making music together, clearly bouncing off and inspiring each other.

Blake has been pretty productive during the down time after the last Fanclub album, already gifting us an album with Euros Childs under the guise of Jonny that contained gems like 'Never Alone'; as good as anything he has produced throughout his career. So I couldn't wait to get stuck into 'Into the Lime' to see what was on offer.

'Sarasota' opens the album; Harrison/Beatles-esque guitar and handclaps greet the listener in a friendly and warm manner. The song flows with ease, the 'it's free, it's free' chant/chorus sinks in on first listen.

'A Very Sorry Christmas' ticks a lot of boxes for Fanclub fans like myself. Harmonies sent from heaven and some cracking warm electric guitar.

Pernice and Blake sound like they are having fun on 'Cruel Annette' that has a real McCartney vibe to it. Playful melodies and lyrics combine for a bit of a jaunt.

Having read Hornby's 'A Long Way Down' then 'Follow You Down' would be perfect for a film adaption. Gentle vocals, guitar and glockenspiel combine in lovely fashion.

The guitars are cranked up for 'Shouting Match' with glorious results. 'If You Only Knew Her' slows it back down a little with one of the best choruses on the album. McCartney-esque sprung to mind again on first listen.

If you only knew her

You would love her truly

Underneath her heavy spell she casts to make you love

You'll never get above

'High On The Skyline' is another song that would certainly have fitted in with the film. The chorus is repeated regularly to make you think that it would have been the real standout song in the film; maybe at the climax? Pernice and Blake gel effortlessly throughout the album

'By the Time It Gets Dark' is probably my favourite on the album. Starting with Pernice and acoustic guitar before Norman joins in with glorious harmonies and a sprinkling of piano. Gentle percussion takes the song on further, flowing superbly. This is beautiful.

Maybe, by the evening, we'll be laughing

Just wait and see, all the changes there'll be

By the time it gets dark

'Out of the Lime' rubber stamps how well Joe and Norman work together. Two kindred spirits indeed. I'm looking forward to the next Teenage Fanclub album, but I suspect that this won't be the last record by The New Mendicants. I get the impression that the two could knock out albums on a regular basis - coming together to write in each others house over a few beers - sounds good!

'Lifelike Hair' is….a little weird, certainly in comparison to the rest of the album. Garage-psych. It has been a while since I read the book so I have no idea if this is a specific reference to it or not.

'Into the Lime' contains plenty examples of all that is great about Norman Blake and Joe Pernice -harmonies, chiming guitars, top class songwriting, a dash of humour and some beautiful melodies. I hope they record together again.