After what has been a full on few months at work, I awoke to a bright & crisp sunny April Monday morning, hailing the start of a week’s annual leave. And what better way to spend my first day of doing as little as possible, than in the company of “the hardest working band in showbusiness”, the dynamic husband/wife duo, The Courettes.
You Know That’s a Prison Don’t You?
This was set to be a day, and a gig experience, to remember. One like I’d never seen never before, or likely to again. The first of a double header of gigs in Glasgow for Flavia and Martin on this most glorious of Monday’s saw them following in the footsteps of a select few performers over the years, including the infamous San Quentin gig from the Man in Black himself, Johnny Cash, by playing a gig exclusively for the inmates of a prison. In this case The Bar/Bar-L/Barlinnie (whatever your choice of nom de plume) in Glasgow’s East End.
This venue was obviously a surprise for many, including the security at Glasgow airport. Martin and Flavia had a long journey having played a gig in Berlin on Saturday night then making a trip to Amsterdam to catch a flight to Glasgow, where I was waiting…. and waiting…. dutifully for them to appear through the gates. Crowds of folk awaiting relatives slowly drifted away until I was left standing alone, eventually the pair walked through the gate, looking every inch the suave rock stars they are in leather jackets and dark glasses (after midnight…).
Despite the rock star attire (noticed by some young drunks outside their hotel – “you look like a rock band”) aloof rock star attitudes is something they don’t have, both of them down to earth and chatty despite the hour and explaining with some humour that the delay was due to airport security trying to ascertain, via some Glasgow accent barriers, that the band were aware the first date on their tour schedule was actually a prison…
Following in the footsteps of the Man in Black
This was my first time inside Barlinnie, well, any prison actually, thankfully as a guest of promoter Colin, the band, and their tour manager, the inimitable Patrice, and not at the pleasure of His Majesty, so the whole experience was a great opportunity to get a partial insight into the workings of modern prison life, in a prison which first opened in 1882.
There are naysayers out there who, knowing nothing of the background, will scoff and dismiss this gig as a publicity stunt. That, to me, smacks of jealousy that they didn’t get the opportunity themselves, and also a lack of understanding as to the reason behind gigs like this. The gig itself was part of a cultural programme to give qualifying inmates an opportunity to take part in activities to help rehabilitation and acclimatisation with activities that relate more to life outside prison. The lock ’em up and throw away the key brigade that dismiss projects like this, show an utter lack of empathy for those whose circumstances have led them to end up in prison. They will sneer and call me a liberal lefty snowflake, but I wear that badge with pride. I just hope none of them end up in a position that leads to them spending time inside.
One of the inmates, Stuart, was part of a skills programme allowing him to develop his talents in recording and broadcasting, leading to the opportunity to interview Martin & Flavia for the prison radio station. He was also quick to warn the band of the reverb they’d experience in the venue…
I do enjoy a gig in unusual locations and circumstances, and this was certainly one of them; that venue was the prison chapel After loading in the gear ahead of the gig while Martin & Flavia gave their interview, Patrice set their instruments up in the altar in front of the communion table, ahead of the ever looming performance time, and we chatted with guards revealing mutual acquaintances through a love of music. As stage time neared, those who had applied to attend the gig filed in, and were seated in their units, with allocated guards. This was a very different run up to a gig, no dimmed lights, or dark club atmosphere, no background music, no jam packed bar, no drunk hecklers, no crowd drifting in and out or arriving late…barging past you to get to the front spilling your beer in the process…
Back in Mono
The band first came to my attention, thanks to Colin again, when he promoted a couple of Scottish gigs to mark the release of their third album Back in Mono, the Glasgow one being in, where else, but Mono…that was the start of my love affair with the music of The Courettes. I would say obsession, but that sounds a bit stalkery, and I don’t want to end up being incarcerated behind prison walls against my will! This is the third year in a row he has brought the band back, on both previous occasions the resultant gigs have been amongst my favourites of the year… and beyond. There was a reputation that had to be lived up to here, and I was getting the opportunity to witness it twice in one day.
I know personally I had a mixture of an air of trepidation and excitement running through me from arriving at Barlinnie all the way to the ever approaching stage time, not really knowing what to expect from the gig. A feeling which I felt eminating from Martin and Flavia too. What could/would they say between songs? Could they use their normal jokes and quips? When they started performing, all of that apprehension vanished in a flash of sixties girl group styled garage rock brilliance. All their energy was focussed on the vigorous performance, with no signs of nerves whatsover, just a committed dedication to what they do, leaving none of their passion or vivacity at the door with their phones, throwing everything into their show and their powerfully emotional perfectly honed performance, giving those in attendance a gig to remember.
The rest of the crowd may not count themselves lucky, after all, the only way to attend this gig was to be at His Majesty’s behest, but I count myself as lucky to have been there, I doubt I’ll ever be in the privileged position again in being the only member of the public (outside the band, Patrice, Colin and the sound engineer) to witness such a gig, and hope I don’t witness it from the other side. As one inmate joked as he walked past the band as they were getting photos taken later: “Thanks” before adding “and be good so you don’t end up coming back.”
Gloriously Unholy Racket
The band, bedecked in their trademark full sixties vintage style monochrome gear, took to the makeshift stage to a muted ripple of applause, Flavia with her scarlet guitar and Martin spraying his vintage Premier drumkit with water in his own unique style before taking to his stool and launching into Hoodoo Hop from their 2018 album, We Are The Courettes. The resultant explosion of sound filled the huge space in the chapel with their gloriously unholy racket. The Courettes manage to create an immense resounding sound which belies the fact there are only two of them, and they took full advantage of the impressive acoustics of the building. There was no holding back from either Martin or Flavia, with full force crashing drums and wondrous fuzzed-up guitar filling the chapel to its apex when launching straight into The Boy I Love, with Flavia making the first of many forays to the front of the altar giving full on axe-hero poses.
Their set went from strength to strength, both Martin and Flavia encouraging audience participation throughout, and while initially any inducement to get up and dance resulted in awkward glances, the audience really warmed to the duo. Then with a bit of persuasion, they were spelling out the Beatles drummer’s name ahead of R.I.N.G.O, shouting back “fuck you motherfucker” before Trash Can Honey and participating in the over the top theatrics during the epic performance of Boom! Dynamite! with Flavia picking off several of the guards and inmates with her sniper guitar to great amusement. Martin and Flavia adapted their stage patter accordingly, without taking any of the enthusiasm and verve out of their performance “thanks for coming” quipped Flavia, before adding “…or maybe you didn’t have a choice” and interacting with individuals in the audience, performing their “number 4 hit single” Daydream in Japanese after a sole voice responded to her question “do you want the English or Japanese version?”
Do You Want Another one? “Aye!”
Despite this being a very different type of gig, (when asked if they want another song the response was a polite “Aye”) the applause and reception from those who’d attended was genuinely warm, with shouts of thanks coming from some of the guys as they left after an electrically charged encore of the Back in Mono era single Hop the Twig. As Flavia left the stage and walked over to where I was standing I turned from looking at the departing crowd to see her face glowing with a grin as wide as the Clyde.
After such an animated and spirited set, I didn’t envy the fact that after a couple of hours, they were going to have to do it all over again.
The Three n Eights
And so, suitably re-suited and booted, part two began in style with a charged set from the mighty as always Three n Eights. Even though we missed Ingrid on vocals, Dougie took on her songs with gusto doing a sterling job in her absence. The band played their mix of covers and originals in their own inimitable skabilly style, their own songs like Leopard Print Heart standing shoulder to shoulder with a nitrous charged version of Folsom Prison Blues channelling the spirit of the day, and The Cramps Goo Goo Muck (recently reaching a whole new audience through the Netflix series Wednesday) with added trombone bringing a whole new feel to the song. Then of course there was Gregor taking the lead for their sublime version of the Rancid classic Timebomb. You can’t help get drawn in by the band, and at least tap your foot along to the band, if not going down the full on skanking route.
I’d taken up a position at the front of the stage for the bands set. Sleazy’s was getting busy when Three n Eights took to the stage, but I wasn’t prepared for the wall of people behind me when I turned around at the end of the set. A sell out on a Monday night in Glasgow is no mean feat, I’ve been to many an early in the week gig with only a handful of punters. Any thoughts of going to the bar or toilet soon dissipated, the thought of fighting through the sold out Sleazy’s crowd not filling me with feelings of joy. Fortuitous as it turns out as it meant keeping prime positioning in the crammed venue for The Courettes second set of the day.
Incendiary Set
Not taking anything away from their set earlier in the day, the situation being entirely different, but I’m pretty sure I enjoyed this Courettes gig more than I’ve enjoyed any other. Perhaps it was my position stage front, perhaps it was because I was still on a high from the rest of the day, maybe it was the sea of friendly faces at the gig, those I spoke to and those I didn’t get a chance to see, perhaps it was my own current state of mind, or maybe just because The Courettes have a catalogue of fantastic songs and a performance they have honed over what feels like years of non stop touring, but I had somehow inherited the grin Flavia had on her face at the end of the Barlinnie gig, and it stayed put on my face for the entirety of their incendiary set.
This band is Dynamite!
Despite having seen the same songs played a mere few hours before and hearing the same on stage banter, it was like hearing and seeing it again with a new pair of ears and eyes. I could watch this band live over and over again and never get tired of them. Yeah, if you’ve seen them before, you know what to expect from songs like Boom! Dynamite! and the stage managed to and fro between the band and audience, but that’s part of the enjoyment for me. They just bring joy to every fibre of my being. The songs take some of my favourite parts of garage rock, wall of sound 60s girl groups and beat pop and blend them all together to create sublime short blasts of rapturous elation.
Wildly Dazzling Fuzzy Sound
If I think about it from the other side. Martin and Flavia must’ve performed these songs a million times, but it never feels like they dial in a performance. Martin is a study in intense concentration as he brings the beat, with such a vim and vigour that Patrice has to hold on to the kit on occasion to prevent it from escaping from him. While to his left Flavia owns the stage interacting with and involving the crowd throughout, her joyfully buoyant guitar playing bringing a wildly dazzling fuzzy sound to proceedings, as she makes her forays off the stage and climbs on any available surfaces. The sheer rush of energy released by the dynamic duo is infectious in the extreme and never feels laboured, even after a second spirited performance for the day, I felt shattered, I’ve no idea how it must have felt to play two vigorous and sassy gigs, pure adrenaline I would wager.
Indelible Mark
As always the band ended with a euphoric closing number, this time, like earlier, it was the peerless Hop the Twig, including some energetic dancing onstage from two well-kent faces from the Glasgow live music scene, Coco and Nyall. Once again, The Courettes leave Glasgow behind having left an indelible mark, I’m sure this was not just on me, but on a slew of happy music fans, with a few new fans under their belts too after their earlier performance.
I look forward to the return of The Courettes to these shores, sooner rather than later, and hopefully with a new record in tow & new songs to play, but for now, I’ll bask in the glow and memory of another couple of special gigs from this most extraordinary of bands.
Long live the Fabulous Courettes.
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