Teenage Fanclub - Glasgow Barrowland - September 2021

Photo by Carla Easton

 Ah Glasgow Barrowland!

I was so excited about returning to this iconic venue that I showed up for doors opening. I've probably not done that since visiting for the first time back in 1993 - also to see Teenage Fanclub. 

Just grabbing a beer and walking round the iconic ballroom listening to background music while watching everyone coming in heightened my senses. I'd missed this kind of thing so much; the sense of anticipation, an occasion, a special night out.

Pretty soon I was catching up with friends - Lorna (my real Teenage Fanclub buddy), Lloyd from Olive Grove Records, John from my hometown of Carluke and loads of people from the Teenage Fanclub Fanclub. 

It was great to see loads of people coming in early for Poster Paints who delivered another impeccable set. Carla sung beautifully and it was brilliant to see her on the Barrowland stage. Number 1 sounded particularly powerful and the response from the crowd was warm and loud. Set closer My Song was glorious, building into a dreamy New Order groove, low bass, synth and the kind of guitar riff you could listen to for days.

Poster Paints play their debut headline show at The Poetry Club in Glasgow on October 7th. Be great to see you there.

Photo by Kat Gollock

Shortly after 9pm Teenage Fanclub walked on to the stage to a huge Barrowland roar and after strapping on their guitars they launched into the double header of About You and Start Again. The band were in excellent form, it's a shame that this little run of shows has come to an end just as they are really getting going. I found myself checking dates for their shows next Spring earlier today.

A run of 3-songs from Endless Arcade really highlighted that the band are on form on record and on stage. Everything Is Falling Apart and Home both allowed the Fannies to stretch out and flow. Dave and Francis were locked in tune all night, allowing their mates to jam on and extend a number of songs. 

Photo by Kat Gollock

Home was outstanding last night, the guitars sounded glorious, I love when the band play like this. Then there as an absolute romp through Warm Embrace, quickly becoming a live favourite for band and audience.

What You Do To Me was particularly euphoric last night, sung gustily on stage and on the famous sprung ballroom floor. It felt so uplifting to be in the Barrowland and singing along with friends and strangers.

Closely followed by Raymond's outstanding Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From, with Norman playing his xylophone to huge cheers.

Back In The Day was another highlight, the band extended it, clearly enjoying playing it live and there was a nice moment afterwards where someone near the front shouted his appreciation to Norman, adding 'that's a corker' raising a smile from Blake.

There were regular smiles on stage and off all night. We were standing just a few rows from the front to Dave's side and you could see the energy being created and enjoyed on stage.

I'm In Love had a real zip to it, while the closing section of The Concept was simply sublime, just absolutely gorgeous.

Raymond's The Fall started the 4-song encore, the outro section sounding particularly dreamy and beautiful, then we had Norman tugging on heartstrings with his stunning The Sun Won't Shine On Me, the guitar riff was heavenly.

Norman then announced they were going to play a cover version by an 80's band ... going on to play Golden Shower by The Boy Hairdressers, his pre Fanclub band with Raymond. 

Ending with Everything Flows, I was really taken with the way Euros added a hammond style riff to the song. He has brought a lot to the band and seems to have quite a free license to add bits to songs, while his harmonies with Norman are so natural and beautiful. Norman waved his guitar in front of his speaker to generate feedback, just lost in the moment, it was so good to see.

It was good to be back!

I must mention the Simply Thrilled Aftershow at McChuills round the corner on High Street. Walking into my favourite bar to the sound of Rocks by Primal Scream was so uplifting. Pretty soon they played Radio and a few people started dancing. The boys got the hint and it was Fanclub tunes until closing with a group of us singing and dancing like the good old days to Baby Lee, I Need Direction and of course - Everything Flows to close. I felt absolutely elated! 

Teenage Fanclub at Assembly Rooms

Even though it's complicated

We got time to start again

My last gig was 29th February 2020. Looking back at my blog, I attended 6 gigs in the first couple of months in that year. Gig going was (and will be again) a major part of my life - a reason to catch up with friends, to have a wee night out and visit some of my favourite bars in Glasgow, to watch bands and artists I love, to discover new sounds and to get the buzz from entering venues like The Barrowland and seeing audience and artist become one.

February 2020! 

Then everything changed ...

But enough has been written about that. Lets get bang up to date - Tuesday 14th September 2021 to be precise. 

The sense of anticipation of a gig is still there! The buzz of arranging to meet friends, of sorting someone out with a spare, even thinking about what to wear! 

In addition, there is a strange form of planning that is going to become the norm for a while. I missed 2 gigs that I had tickets for the 2 previous Friday's as I knew that this gig and the Barrowland on Thursday were the ones I really wanted to go to. My friend Lorna decided not to go after giving someone a lift home from John Grant at the Barrowland last week and then they subsequently tested positive. Lorna is negative, but worried. COVID is absolutely everywhere. We're learning to live with it, or we are trying to. It's not going away and it feels like we'll all get it at some point - we need to trust in (and test) the vaccine and our immune systems. It feels like we're living in a giant experiment at times. 

But back to the gig!

The Edinburgh Assembly Rooms is a breathtakingly stunning venue. The chandeliers, the craft work and attention to detail on the ceiling ... everything seemed so grand ... from the entrance and the welcome from the staff, to the well staffed bar and to the huge high ceiling-d room for events. 

My sisters band Poster Paints were supporting and playing their first ever gig! You'll find my blogs on their first couple of singles here and here.

They played beautifully and brilliantly. The sound was absolutely spot on, the audience were warm, responsive and by midway through the set the venue was full.

Simon's guitar looked and sounded sublime as he coaxed gorgeous sounds from it, Sita harmonised beautifully with Carla on some songs and my sisters voice was as good as I have ever heard it.

Playing a 7-song set, Poster Paints won the audience with some stunning songs. Circus Moving On is all kinds of slow dreamy gorgeousness, while closer My Song built slowly and hypnotically into a a kind of shoegazey New Order groove.

My friend Luke captured it on film HERE

Poster Paints play their debut headline show at The Poetry Club in Glasgow on Thursday 7th October.

Next up ... Teenage Fanclub!

The warm guitars of About You kicked things off, all of the band looking happy - the combination of guitars and harmonies sounded particularly blissful after so many months without live music. I found myself leaving my friends to move closer to the stage, closer to the speakers to get lost in the music and the rush of the live experience.

Teenage Fanclub were on form - they always are! If I was relishing being back at a gig then my favourite band were clearly enjoying playing with each other and to their fans again. Home was a bit of a standout for me last night, the glorious jam at the end was lovely and tight but loose, Raymond's guitar playing was exceptional.

Warm Embrace was another highlight, the band tore through it and Francis' drumming was outstanding. The band seemed to really enjoy playing this one. Euros on keys and harmonies, Dave really going for it on bass - they flew through it.

There were plenty of old favourites too - Alcoholiday, a romp through God Knows It's True a spellbinding Verisimilitude with the chiming guitar riff sounding heavenly.

Picture by Lee Skinner

Back In The Day is a real favourite of mine from the new album and I was delighted the band included the song in the set. It could become a staple over the next few years. Euros and Norman harmonising effortlessly.

The Concept still sends warm tingles down my spine - the humour, the harmonies, the pleading 'believe me' urgency in the hook I didn't want to hurt you, oh yeah and the guitars and extended outro. 

Norman's The Sun Won't Shine On Me is simply perfect and the chiming guitars and his crystal clear vocals brought me close to happy tears of joy. And then the traditional set closer, the bands debut single, Everything Flows, released way back in the summer of 1990, sounded as perfect as always.

I look forward to doing it all over again on Thursday night at the Barrowland.

I'll never know which way to flow

Set a course that I don't know

Interview - Douglas MacIntyre - FRETS

In my 5th January blog on things I'm looking forward to in the Scottish Music Scene in 2021, I mentioned the FRETS Creative nights in Strathaven, run by Douglas MacIntyre.

In another world, next month I'd be heading along to Strathaven Hotel to catch 3 musical heroes; Tim Burgess, Norman Blake & Duglas T Stewart playing an intimate seated show. The gig has now been rescheduled to October. Surely we'll be in a position where gigs can go ahead then?

Or will we? Now more than ever we live in an ever changing world, dealing with a pandemic that is mutating and new variants seem to spread more easily. 

What a state the country is in. What a state the world is in. In the UK we have the worst possible people in charge at the worst possible time. Johnson and his Tory cronies are ridiculously out of touch, oblivious to reality, lacking empathy, blundering from week to week.

Marcus Rashford is showing them up on a daily/weekly basis. I admire his non-political stance, he simply focuses on a problem and works to solutions. How I wish politics could be banished to have intelligent and empathetic people, blessed with common sense in charge of sorting the country out.

I hope that Scotland's size works in our favour, that we can get the virus back under control and role out the vaccine. We should be maximising our testing capacity as well. 

Excuse the sidestep into politics. Lets get back to music, lets get back to positivity, to creativity, to bringing people together for a good time.

Lets say thanks to Douglas MacIntyre who runs FRETS Creative and FRETS Concerts. Without people like Douglas, someone bursting with ideas and the skills to bring them to life, life would be a lot duller.

After all, attracting artists of the calibre mentioned above (plus more mentioned below) to Strathaven (lovely as it is) can't be that easy. It's not even that easy to get to!

But that is part of Strathaven's charm. It's a beautiful old village with cobbled streets, a stunning park, cool cafes and independent shops (when restrictions allow), set in the beautiful Lanarkshire countryside. Only 15/20 minutes from Hamilton, 35 minutes from Glasgow, but feeling much further, perhaps due to the lack of a train station, probably just because it is so wonderfully detached, whereas much of Glasgow and Lanarkshire merge into each other.

I decided to ping Douglas a few questions to learn more about FRETS, the challenges he is facing in the current climate and his plans for the future. I'd like to thank him for his answers and wish him and the FRETS team all the very best for the future. I sincerely hope to be making regular trips to Strathaven in the not too distant future. Maybe see you there?

Read on for the interview;

1.      What inspired you to start FRETS?

 I decided to start FRETS as an umbrella organisation to provide an arts outlet for South Lanarkshire. I started doing the FRETS Concerts on 4th October 2019 with Lloyd Cole being the first acoustic show. Lloyd was embarking on a world tour, accompanied with Neil Clark from the Commotions on guitar, it tickled me that Lloyd’s world tour started in Strathaven!

I also set up premises in Strathaven, FRETS Creative, along with local photographer Les Hoggan. FRETS Creative is a space for arts organisations to utilise, and a local organisation, Creative Strathaven, have set up a retail and arts workshop in the space, which has being going great. We also have a creative writing outlet, FRETS Words, which is run by my wife Katy Lironi, who was also singer with Fizzbombs / The Secret Goldfish.  

2.  How important is Strathaven as a base and location?

I was brought up in the Strathaven area, I lived in a nearby village (Glassford) until I was 20 before I moved to Glasgow in 1983. I returned to live in the Strathaven area with my family in 2002, sometimes it takes leaving somewhere to appreciate it. Strathaven does have an interesting music history, with Harry Lauder living in the village, through to Orange Juice recording the first Postcard single, Falling and Laughing, in Strathaven at Emblem Sound studio. I recorded my first single in Emblem Sound when I was 18, my group was called Article 58, our single was produced by Postcard’s Alan Horne and Malcolm Ross and released on Josef K manager Allan Campbell’s label, Rational Records.

3.      How supportive has the community been to your ideas?

 The community in Strathaven has been extremely supportive of all the strands of FRETS, which is something we are hoping to build on. We intend setting up some workshops to engage younger people in Strathaven in the arts, that is one of our primary aims for the future.

The Strathaven Hotel is a stunning venue. Were they surprised at how well your shows performed in terms of ticket sales?

The Strathaven Hotel is a fantastic venue with a great atmosphere, it is perfect for our seated acoustic concerts. When I met the owner for the first time to explain the FRETS Concerts concept, I’m not sure he totally bought into my vision!! However, after the first concert with Lloyd Cole selling out so quickly, he totally got was I was trying to do with FRETS Concerts and has been incredibly accommodating and supportive.

5.      What was the most challenging thing you experienced while trying to get up and running?

In the run up to the first concert with Lloyd Cole, it was really a learning experience for me. In recent years I’ve been in groups like The Nectarine No9, Sexual Objects, The Secret Goldfish, and my own project, Port Sulphur, so I’ve had an understanding how concerts work from an artist’s perspective. However being a promoter is a completely different discipline, and whilst I felt comfortable coming up with the vision and aesthetic of FRETS Concerts, I quickly realised I needed experienced people around me to make the shows work. Wesley Cameron came on board as production manager with David Henderson dealing with sound, both of whom are really amazing to work with.

6.      What has been your highlight so far?

We’ve only been able to do shows with Lloyd Cole, James Grant, Norman Blake and Euros Childs so far, all have been sold out. It has been fantastic working with each of them, the concerts have been great. The initial ethos and idea of FRETS Concerts was based on the early 1970s BBC2 In Concert television shows, especially Neil Young. I guess Norman and Euros was a bit special, Katy and I got married to Norman’s version of Only With You whilst our eldest son Dugald was born at home while Gorky’s albums played on a loop.

How frustrating has life been for you as a promoter over the last year? You had some incredible shows lined up?

It has been incredibly frustrating as a promoter over the past year, starting when we had to postpone The Bluebells in March 2020 days before the concert. FRETS Concerts only promotes monthly at the moment, so I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for bigger promoters.

And how difficult is it to plan future shows?

It has been incredibly difficult to plan future shows, it’s like a giant jigsaw puzzle involving artists, managers, agents, and venue availability. I take the view it is important to remain positive and optimistic, live music will return at some point and I think we’ll all appreciate it all the more when it does. 

9.      When do you think live shows will be back and what artists have you pencilled in?

We have some great shows lined up at FRETS; Tim Burgess, Norman Blake & David Scott, Duglas T.Stewart, The Bluebells, The Skinner Songbook, JJ Gilmour, Roddy Woomble, King Creosote, Robyn Hitchcock, Robert Forster, Grant-Lee Phillips, with others in the pipeline. The best way to find out about future acoustic FRETS concerts at the Strathaven Hotel is to go to www.fretscreative.com and scroll down until you come to the BLOG subscription - just leave your email address there and you’ll hear first about future FRETS concerts. We also have the following social media pages

https://www.facebook.com/fretsconcerts

https://twitter.com/FRETSCONCERTS

 Lastly, if you could book any artist for a FRETS show, who would you book and why?

It would have to be Neil Young performing two acoustic sets of my favourite albums, first Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere followed by On The Beach, both in their entirety. Other than that impossible dream, further pipe dreams would include acoustic concerts by Bill Callahan, Bobbie Gentry, Jonathan Richman, Al Green, John Cale, Edwyn Collins & Roddy Frame,… that kinda thing !!