I have no idea how many times I've attended gigs at the famous Glasgow Barrowland since I first climbed the steps to the Ballroom back in 1993, 31-years ago! I am fortunate to hold so many incredible memories of singing, dancing, sweating, bouncing and being part of a community in such a wonderful venue. In the words of the late Maxi Jazz 'this is my church'.
Over those years I've witnessed some wild nights, when the famous sprung dancefloor has been tested to the limit by 2,000 people dancing, jumping, grooving, bouncing and pogo-ing to the likes of Basement Jaxx, Underworld, LCD Soundsystem, Primal Scream, The Charlatans and Oasis.
Lately, I've found the Barrowland to be a little more chilled. A 2024 audience has seemed more content to watch, film on phones and be polite and not bump into others.
That changed on Sunday night with a joyful, euphoric and theatrical performance by Confidence Man who came to town to celebrate their new album 3AM (LA LA LA). They sure know how to host and start a party!
Confidence Man came to my attention a number of years ago as they brought their first LP, Confident Music for Confident People, out on Heavenly Recordings. I always take an interest in what Heavenly release, they have impeccable taste and a knack for picking up on cool bands.
Greg Wilson got his hands on their Out The Window single and I fell head over heels for his remix. The late great Andrew Weatherall also heard something in that song and sprinkled some magic in a remix, also taking on Bubblegum.
I meant to go and see Confidence Man at Saint Luke's a couple of years back and was gutted that I didn't go after reports indicated they had lifted the roof off the place.
Then, in late June this year, we sat down as a family to watch Glastonbury and happened to catch Confidence Man play an absolutely blinding set. I immediately checked their tour dates and bought tickets for the Barrowland.
What a night!
Confidence Man, who are fronted by the highly energetic Janet Planet and Sugar Bones with Reggie Goodchild and Clarence McGuffie on production duties, blew everyone away.
Their set was pure pop, theatre, dance, like a festival, like a club ... generating an energy from the crowd that I haven't seen in many a year. People were going crazy, the Barrowland was bouncing!
Costume changes, dance routines, cheesey poses, cheeky smiles ... I'm not going to lie, I now have a total crush on Janet Planet! And I suspect my wife has one on Sugar Bones!
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They were on it from the off with the sublime electro pop of Now U Do, bounding from one side of the stage to the other, straight into Does It Make You Feel Good? The answer, was YEAH!
Confidence Man songs are sexy, funny, cool and UPBEAT with a capital U P B E A T! All My People tells the tale of someone with a toy boy. There is a great lyric - they say there's 7 wonders but my toy boy makes it 8. And hooks galore including;
With a face like that, there's no conversation
With an ass like that, there's no hesitation
C.O.O.L Party is full of funky bass and beats with Janet Planet talking about a cool party, leading to a huge fun chorus that they literally spell out.
We moved from pop to a real club atmosphere for BREAKBEAT, BREAK IT DOWN (ON THE BASSLINE), SICKO and the glorious Boyfriend (Repeat).
My boyfriend wants to talk
My boyfriend talks too much
The Barrowland crowd were lapping it up. Everyone was pushing to get on the dancefloor and it was JUMPING! Janet and Sugar were absolutely on it, relentless with their energy and dancing, projecting it out to the audience who responded wholeheartedly.
A closing blast of SO WHAT and Holiday was incredible. If the Scottish Government are interested in green energy then they should hook up to the Barrowland dancefloor the next time Confidence Man are back in town!
The encore was the title track of their latest album 3AM (LA LA LA) and that was it. 75-minutes of electro pop club perfection. 2 pop stars taking us on a merry dance of hooks, synths, bass and beats.
I do hope Confidence Man return to the Barrowland for a couple of nights next year. It is the perfect venue for them and they are the perfect hosts for a Barrowland party!
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