glad (adjective) “feeling pleasure or happiness”
I have to say that after a few weeks of feeling little pleasure or happiness, last night, The Glad Cafe was an appropriately named venue for the fifth birthday celebration of Returned from Sea, the gloriously emotional debut album from Sister John. Nights like this should be available on prescription. the power that live music can have over me cannot be emphasised enough.
I think I can be fairly sure I’m not just speaking for myself when I say how special this night was. A quick scan around the venue during Sister John’s set and I observing rapt faces entirely transfixed by the perfect performance from the effortlessly cool quartet of Jonathan (complete with broken finger), Amanda, Sophie and Heather. I think my feeling that this was a life-affirming night was a collective sentiment.
It wasn’t just Sister John who delivered an impeccable and heartwarming performance, with a true Glasgow music legend in Chris Thomson opening proceedings with a jaw-droppingly stunning career spanning performance. The quietly unassuming singer, who also entertained us by sharing his literally (Steve) Strange dream, has an instantly recognisable vocal, unique and distinctive, with a range that takes in delicate near whispers through to a richly powerful baritone. It was just Chris and an acoustic guitar treating us to a heartachingly beautiful set of songs, going right back to Friends Again days with Moon 3, Wand You Wave and South of Love nestling beautifully alongside the likes of, and quite a remarkable version it was too, the wonderful If Love Could Last Forever. Quite frankly, I wish this gig could have lasted forever.
This wouldn’t have been a Last Night From Glasgow gig if it didn’t involve bumping into loads of the LNFG family. It was great to catch up with so many well kent faces and meet some new people between bands, and, ahem, afterwards in the bar, you know who you are…The respect shown to both acts by the crowd was exceptional. The very nature of the songs and performances meant some gently strummed guitars and delicately delivered vocals. You could have heard a pin drop at those moments in the songs, everyone leaving their rapturous reception and applause to the end of each song.
The performance of Returned From Sea by the multi-talented instrumentalists that make up the wonderful Sister John was beyond expectation. An exceptional and flawless performance revisiting the precious songs from this very special album and giving them a righteous airing to those lucky enough to be able to attend this intimate performance. The live arrangements of these most cherished of songs was such that I was close to tears on several occasions, due to the beauty and emotional rush created by the utterly synchronised quartet, their collective consciousness living and breathing the songs as if their lives depended on it. Jonathan playing through the pain barrier switching between bass, keyboards and guitar, Sophie and Heather sharing fiddle, bass and drum duties, all three of them contributing angelic harmonies with everything exceptionally topped off by Amanda’s warm and comforting vocal.
As if the tracks on the album weren’t enough in themselves, we were treated to a little Easter egg in the form of an arresting version of Leonard Cohen’s Bird on a Wire. Absolutely mesmerising. I mentioned earlier the seemingly effortless cool of this band, everything about them exudes coolness and class and instils a sense of calm in the listener, obviously being that cool and playing music like this takes much effort and practice, this listener for one is most grateful to the band for all the hours they put in to ensure this performance was flawless and bewitching. The band rounded off a perfect evening, leaving us in style with a rousing version of How Can I Keep It Alive, an ecstatic crowd left on tenterhooks wanting more. Can we do it all again really soon?
PS – no gig photos from me – i was so enthralled by both performances my phone stayed in my pocket…