Live music is my life blood. Which is why the last few months have been so frustrating as it’s been patchy time, not that there haven’t been plenty of gigs to go to, quite the opposite, I’ve had plenty in my calendar, I just seem to have missed more than I’ve been to. The night before this one being one of those occasions, having looked forward to English Teacher for so long, when it came to the crunch, once more I couldn’t go… and I missed a blinder by all accounts.
It was touch and go for tonight’s festivities, but I was damn sure that by hook or by crook I was going to make this one, how could I miss my favourite live band? I’d bought this ticket as soon as the dates were announced. Hugh Cornwell supported by The Fabulous Courettes. I have to be honest here, the tickets were purchased purely on the draw of the support band, who at that point hadn’t announced their headline dates for the year. Even though I’d ultimately ended up seeing the band at Slay on their subsequently announced headline tour, I was damn sure that no matter how I felt I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to see the band for the second time in Glasgow in a year.
It was an early stage time so we were there in plenty time for their advertised stage time of 7.30, even then I just managed to squeeze into a space on the barrier, with the hardcore Cornwell fans already claiming their spaces. Then alarm set in. I’m sure if anyone had seen my face as the band took to the stage it would have gone from a look of ecstasy to sheer panic as they played their first song. You Woo Me was almost inaudible, the sound man seemingly having been caught napping. Thankfully this was rectified quickly as the mic volume was turned up and all was well with the world once more…
I tell you what, I may be biased as I was obviously there to see The Courettes, my jaiket may have given that away, but when you’ve got a band as good as them as the opening act, you’re setting yourself a challenge to follow them. And tonight was a case in point, they laid down the gauntlet for the headliner, and despite my clearly partisan inclination towards The (correctly titled) Fabulous Courettes, there was a murmuration amongst folks I spoke to who were Courettes virgins that they played a blinder and surely won themselves some new fans.
The hardest touring band I know have honed their show to perfection from a relentless touring schedule, and they sure know how to win over a crowd. Of course there is an element of rock star posturing and cliched between song banter, but that is part of their charm, and I’d be disappointed if it was missing from their armour. The Brazilian/Danish super-duo played a stupendous sixteen, yes sixteen, song set and threw everything but the kitchen sink into their performance. You’d be forgiven for thinking this was a headliners set such was the ferocious energy both Flavia on her signature axe and Martin pounding away on his skins displayed as they took no prisoners and gave no quarter.
The band know how to wring as much as they can out of their audience, with each song they played ratcheting things up another notch, encouraging the crowd to get involved and playing to within an inch of their lives, until things reached fever pitch. The set was culled from across their back catalogue and featured all the Courettes stalwarts – Until You’re Mine, Trash Can Honey, Boom! Dynamite!, Misfits and Freaks and Hop the Twig et al. You’d have been forgiven for thinking Hop the Twig was their set closer but oh no, this is The Courettes we’re talking about here. With Martin and Flavia taking a bow and their well deserved applause from the crowd, things were far from over, their two most incendiary songs yet to come, firstly the sublime Keep Dancing from their latest album The Soul of The Courettes was a supreme masterclass in their take on the Spectoresque wall of sound before they somehow managed to increase the fervency of their performance one more notch, turning things up to 11, and closing in style with a bombastic Shake!
This was exactly what I needed. This was what live music is all about for me. Life affirming stuff and an opportunity to blank out all your worries even if it’s just for a hour or so. I’m pretty sure I was beaming ear to ear as I turned away from the barrier, and was radiating a ready break glow around me, such was the feeling of invincibility that masked any real world vexations. I’m still basking in the glory and joy of the moment and have a feeling of vitality that should at least keep me going til my next outing. All I can say is roll in The Courettes in Glasgow once again in 2026. Take a bow Martin and Flavia, your work here is done once again.
