I love a good gig, and usually have a few to look forward to weeks or months in advance. There is something to be said though for Impromptu gig nights. The other night in Glasgow was a case in point.
I’d seen the Baby Shakes gig advertised and had swithered whether I should go, mid-week, last few days before I’m off for a couple of weeks so busy at work. I’d unconsciously put a mental x against it as one of those, I’d like to go, but I’ll stay in.
Of course, if that had been the case, there wouldn’t have been much more to write about. The stars aligned to alter the course of the evening. I was on my own – in a very 21st Century turn of events, I was a football widow, my wife and both my daughters off to the match. An offer came through, a ticket was available for the gig. I to-ed and fro-ed, should I stay ,or should I go? Did I hell. I said yes, yes, yes, and the course of events changed in a second.
A great decision it turned out to be and the music was just a part of that, quite a large part granted, but the surrounding circumstances added to the whole good feeling of the night.
The Flying Duck
The Flying Duck is a venue I’ve never been in before, from its unassuming entrance at the top of Bath Street, I descended the stairs into what turned out to be a huge and welcoming bar space. How has this place passed me by? The gig space itself is intimate and despite a couple of pillars, there are plenty of great vantage points. I’d be keen to see more bands here.
The other welcome sight on arrival in the downstairs bar was a table of smiling friendly faces. A group of people none of whom I’d known a few years ago. But for a friendly Facebook group of like-minded individuals, I may still not have known them, or been at this gig. That experience continued in the venue space, putting real faces to flat Facebook profiles, joining dots and linking seemingly random pieces of information garnered from the same platform.
Both circumstances would have made for a great night out, of course, the music was like adding the sprinkles on top.
Las Mitras & Las Acuarelas
Before Baby Shakes graced the stage, we ere treated to two diverse support sets, though the criteria for support must have been: Does your band name begin with “Las”.
Las Mitras were first up with their laid-back garage surf rock, a highly enjoyable set with the highlight for me being their track Crab Haven, inspired by the Argyllshire village/marina Croabh Haven, musically touching on B-52s/Cramps territory. They were followed by Las Acuarelas, who for some reason, reminded me of the band trying to get their demo to The Stone Roses in the Spike island movie as they were taking to the stage. Maybe it was the bass player tuning up and playing little vignettes. Anyway, they went on to shine with their joyous baggy psych rock sounds.
Time for the headliners then. Another band to make you glad to be alive, with no time wasted in their set, they were pedal to the metal all the way.
From NYC to Glasgow with love, l-u-v
I have always hankered after a trip to New York, it holds a magnetic allure for me, for many reasons and in no small part due to the array of tremendous music it produces, much like my home city. Hopefully my wish will come to fruition next year but for tonight, the effervescent NYC quartet brought the whole dirty dive bar vibe all the way from the Big Apple to Glasgow, treating the curiously mild mannered midweek crowd to their riveting take on power pop.
Baby Shakes
Every tune had something to give be it buzzsaw guitars, elements of Ramonesey NYC punk, a bit of 60s fuzzy jangle pop stylings taking in the likes of The Byrds through to The Monkees, or some ballsy glam bravura. It is a shame that for the first few songs, the vocals were low in the mix, maybe they should have played Turn it Up early in the set … However, this didn’t stop the energy and vibrancy of the band from putting in a lively performance.
The quartet threw their all into the highly gratifying and exuberant set, in spite of the gap between them and the audience who were a bit backward about coming forward. The midweek effect? It certainly wasn’t through boredom or lack of interest. Every member of the band played their instruments as if their life depended on it, they had me rapt throughout. They were a tight unit and I don’t usually like to single anyone out, but, without taking anything away from the rest of the band, they were all magnificent, I was particularly drawn to the vociferous bass playing from Claudia tonight. Top stuff.
It was over all too soon, but the four band members hung around to chat, signing albums and singles before people started drifting off into the wet miserable evening. Despite the rain, we went home smiling. Every Wednesday should have an injection of fun, friendship and music like this, a great way to break up the working week.