My gig going has taken a hit this year, especially recently. I think I’ve given away more tickets than attended gigs in the last month or so…with the vagaries of life taking over. That meant, apart from managing an hour in The Hug and Pint to marvel at the wonders of Sister MADDs a couple of weeks ago, events around which meant I never did manage a write up (incidentally I bumped into their talented rhythm guitarist Fraser McCallum after This gig). Sister MADDs are a band on the rise with a headline gig at King Tuts lined this summer… (another addendum – the aforementioned guitarist also has a solo appearance during Summer Nights) I’ll certainly be reviewing that one.
Anyway, I digress. All of this meant my return to gigging proper was to witness the legendary (and I use that word with genuine regard) Glasgow band James King and the Lonewolves play a rare gig to promote the release of their wonderful commentary on life and death, in their new album The Mortality Arcade.
Bill Shankly is famously quoted as saying “Someone said to me ‘To you football is a matter of life or death!’ and I said ‘Listen, it’s more important than that’.” While I wouldn’t go as far as to saying exactly the same about music, I will say is that music is as vital as oxygen for me in dealing with the unpredictability of life and it’s ups and downs. So when a band as special as James King and the Lonewolves release an album that focuses on that very theme, and follow it with a live performance whose timing couldn’t be more perfect in helping deal with those vicissitudes, the planets seem to be re-aligning after an extended period of disarray.
Before King and his Lonewolves took to the Stereo stage, the crowd were warmed up by the excellent The Cathode Ray who, in a live arena have a sound that mixes up the energy of Buzzcocks, the pop sensibilities of James and with a smattering of the sound of The Loft/The Weather Prophets. Latest single, Travelling in Style and other new songs played by the band bode well for the new album coming in September on Last Night From Glasgow.
From an album due later in the year to one which just revealed itself to the world in the last couple of weeks. The Mortality Arcade is an absolute triumph, an emotional rollercoaster which sensitively explores the themes of life and death, while managing to sound incredibly uplifting and positive. Expectations were high, and nerves fraught in anticipation of seeing a band whose gigs are few and far between, this was more than just a gig, it was a homecoming. A very special event with the return of original bass player Colin McNeill adding to the vibe.
You could tell this was an important night for the band, a briefly faltering start to their second song, one of the singles from the new album, the wonderful My Queen Has Lost Her Crown was perhaps a sign of nerves, but that was one minor hiccup that, once passed, was the start of a masterfully triumphant homecoming from start to finish. The whole of the new album (apart from its personal heartbreaking closer Farewell Daisy Bell) was performed interspersed with Lonewolves classics.
The five musicians on stage were in the form of their lives and came together to create a sweet cacophony of Southern Blues with the soul of Glasgow at its core. This gig had a celebratory feel, and not just because of the Jake fanclub to my left. Despite the nature of some of the lyrics and the theme at the heart of the songs from the new album, this was an edifying experience, there was no opportunity for sadness or wallowing as the songs hit the sweet spot every time, a joyous affirmation of life in the here and now, and an exhalation of those we have loved and lost.
The three pronged guitar sound from Joe Sullivan, Jake McKechan (also bringing mandolin and harmonica, or should I just say moothie, to the party) and of course James himself, was immense throughout, and with return of the magnificence of Colin McNeill on bass and a stellar performance from Robert Anderson the rhythm section created a boisterous and solid base on which to build these incredibly moving songs.
And with a final dual attack of the roof raising Lonewolves classic single Fun Patrol, followed by a perfect set closer, a mind melding, ear drum busting, crushing wall of sound in the form of a nigh on 10 minute version of Step Away From Home, the crowd could leave happy in the knowledge that they’d witnessed a career defining Lonewolves gig, one that is sure to be one of the gigs of 2024.
James King and the Lonewolves – album review