REVIEW OF BILL WELLS/AIDAN MOFFAT/MALCOLM MIDDLETON/ADAM STAFFORD - SATURDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2012
One of the very first pieces I wrote on TVV way back in 2006 was a moan about gigs on the same night competing for attention. Back then it was Arab Strap, Billy Bragg and the Magic Numbers.
It's happened plenty of times since then and it's going to happen in the future as well - for instance on Friday 6 April 2012 there's Butcher Boy, The Monochrome Set and Martin Stephenson & The Daintees all in town the same night.....
It looked for a while as if last Saturday was going to be the same. The chance to see the ex-Strap duo share a bill just can't be passed up, but there was also the huge attraction of Adam Stafford playing a gig on his 30th birthday. A real dilemma.
The solution however came as a result of the weekend gig policy at The Arches. It's always an early start and finish as it's the venue of one of Glasgow's best and longest-established clubs - as name-checked in The First Big Weekend, the 1996 debut from Arab Strap. I'd worked out that if I got away sharp from the Arches I could leg it along the half-mile or so to the 13th Note and catch at least most of Adam's show.....and if I pulled if off it would the first ever time I'd made two separate shows at different venues on the same night.
GIG 1
I love going to the Arches. I get on a train just 400 yards from my house. Six minutes later I get to Glasgow Central station and walk so seconds to the venue (it's actually underneath the station and you can sometimes hear the rumble of trains above you at quiet moments.
At 7.40pm, Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat take to the stage. Unlike the last time I saw them in Paisley in late 2011, they don't have a full band with them. Just Robert Henderson on trumpet. For about 30 minutes they treat an ever-growing crowd (not everyone remembers that its always a very early start on Fridays & Saturdays at the Arches) to a selection of songs from Everything's Getting Older and one of the songs on the Cruel Summer EP. It's pretty damn splendid from start to end....the sparse instrumentation giving ample room for Aidan's delivery, whether sung or spoken. Totally different versions of Glasgow Jubilee and Keep Me In Your Heart are highlights. But once again, it's the beauty of Copper Top that will linger most. It's becoming increasingly difficult however not to hear the song and not picture in your head the stunning video:
Malcolm Middleton took to the stage around 8.35. Unlike a few weeks ago when he played solo with acoustic guitar at Brel, this was in the shape of Human Don't Be Angry, his new solo guise that now needs a band to perform the material.
Malky has repeatedly said that H.D.B.A. is the antidote to having to write another atypical solo record. The guitars come first and the words along way back in second. It was 25 minutes or so before any of the songs being performed at this gig featured a lyric. It was also the first time I'd been exposed to any of the material, although clearly I was in a minority in what was by now a fairly-packed venue.
Let's cut to the chase. Fans of the Malcolm Middleton material in which he writes all sorts of great indie-pop style bitter-sweet songs about love, life and death will have difficulties adjusting. This was dark, expressive and moody guitar music. The sort best played on a very expensive sound system. The H.D.B.A. debut studio LP is out in April on Chemikal Underground and the lazy comparison would be Mogwai. But a friend who I bumped into at the gig came up with a very interesting comparison - the 1988 LP Spirit of Eden by Talk Talk a record described widely as moody and experimental and of which it has been said is the kind which encourages marketing men to commit suicide. It's also now regarded by a many people as one of the best albums they've ever heard....but it was panned widely on its initial release.
The H.D.B.A. album is likely to be met with some bemusement. I certainly enjoyed about 70% of the performance on Saturday...there was just a wee bit too much noodling for my liking is some of the songs, and there was one in particular (sorry I don't have the titles to hand) that plain annoyed me. But a highlight was this, which has been made available as a free download from the lovely people at Chemikal Underground:-
mp3 : Human Don't Be Angry - H.B.D.A Theme
It was all over by around 9.45. And after saying cheerio to a few folk I'd bumped into at the gig, I made my way along to the 13th Note
GIG 2
I got there just after 10pm. Adam Stafford was already on stage....I was a wee bit surprised as I thought it'd be about half ten before he got going. Luckily it was only about halfway through his opening number.
I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Adam support Butcher Boy last year. But this was something that went way beyond that. As I mentioned earlier, this was a gig to coincide with his 30th birthday and he was wearing a badge to acknowledge that. A badge that was about the size of a 10" single!!
The audience was a mixture of fans, family and friends. We were treated to a mixture of new and unreleased tracks as well as a selection lifted taken from the 2011 LP Build A Harbour Immediately. Adam gave everything of himself on stage and we responded with equal enthusiasm greeting every piece of music with sustained and heartfelt applause.
There really isn't another talent like Adam Stafford in Scotland right now. His ability to make stunning music through looping his voice and/or his guitar at times looks and sounds like some sort of trick on yoour ears and eyes being performed by a member of the Magic Circle. There's loads to take in and even more to admire and enjoy. And with an audience that knows exactly what it's all about, there's no talking or shuffling around or walking out because it bores you or you just don't like it. We are totally captivated and enthralled.
Adam is also really enjoying himself. He continues to thank everyone for making the night so special, mentioning how surreal the day had been. Here he was playing a gig having come straight from a shift in his day job - which for those of you who don't know is the very stressful task of being a 999 operative (or 911 for our overseas readers). His stepfather was bouncing round the venue taking photos all night as you would do at any special gathering of this nature. It's not every day someone close turns 30....
A truly memorable night ends just before 11pm and and as the star performer says thank you and goodnight, the audience serenade him with a chorus of 'Happy Birthday'. He seemed pleased and touched.
There was just enough time to grab a quick word with Adam and learn that much of the new material is going to be recorded later in the year with a likely release date in early 2013...which does seem ages away but will be well worth it. In the meantime, Adam is going on the road for a very short tour next week as follows:-
Thursday 1 March - The Tunnels, Aberdeen
Friday 2 March - Portsound Rio Community Centre, Dundee
Saturday 3 March - Head Of Steam, Newcastle
Sunday 4 March - The Third Door, Edinburgh
I do recommend you go along and see something quite unlike anything else on the live scene right now.
mp3 : Adam Stafford - Shot-Down You Summer Wannabees
The above mp3 can be found on Build A Harbour Immediately. As can see here, lot's of people loved it.
Buy it here.
Oh and in case anyone was wondering about the whereabouts of my usual sidekick at the gigs, Aldo was off with a group of mates to Cracow, Poland. I did set him the challenge of taking in some live music while he was there....we'll have to wait and see.
JC, Monday 27 February 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment