Tonight will see me go way out of my comfort zone.
Looking for something special to do while on this week’s city-break, we managed to pick up tickets to attend a performance of Rossini‘s Guillaume Tell at the world-famous Vienna State Opera. It’s not that I’ve never attended an opera before, but the number can be counted on fewer than the fingers of my right hand….or my left hand for that matter…..and while I’ve enjoyed the experiences, I still prefer heading along to see pop/rock shows which tend to be over and done with in slightly less than the four hours (including intervals) that’s going to be involved tonight.
Which brings me to a couple more short reviews of gigs that took place just a week apart in Glasgow – one from a should-have-been superstar whose biggest hits are from the 80s and the other from a band whose best days may still be ahead of them.
Friday 8 June : Pete Wylie & The Mighty Wah! – King Tuts Wah Wah Hut
Pete Wylie backed by three younger and talented musicians, rolled back the years with his latest tour. He’s out there promoting Teach Yself Wah! a 20-track compilation comprising the hits, near misses, the flops and a number of songs that really ought to be much better known.
He was on stage for over two hours. He played just 13 songs, an indication of just now often, and for how long, he was talking. The thing is, there was every bit as much enjoyment to be had from the music as there was the talking, much of which was akin to stand-up comedy along with personal recollections of a lifetime in an industry that has never been sure of how to deal with him.
Wylie is a naturally gifted entertainer, but he’s also someone who has devoted an astonishing amount of time and energy into fighting all sorts of social injustices, to the extent that any prospect of him having an extended period in the limelight as a pop/rock star was certainly compromised. Not that he’s overly concerned about how it’s all turned out for him – he’d very much prefer to be remembered for his campaigning efforts as he is for tunes such as these.
mp3 :Wah! – Story Of The Blues
mp3 : Pete Wylie & The Oedipus Wrecks – Sinful
Friday 15 March : Yard Act – Glasgow Academy
The Yard Act gig at Glasgow Barrowlands back in April 2023 was a real highlight of the year. It was one of the final shows the band played in celebration of the success of debut album The Overload, and it was a night of manic energy and exhilaration up on the stage and amongst the audience.
Almost a full year later and they return to the city for one of the first shows to support and promote the newly released LP, Where’s My Utopia? The album was on solid rotation prior to the gig, and at this early juncture, it is a strong candidate to be at the top of my ‘year end list’ if I can be bothered to do such a thing come December.
And yet…..the gig turned out to be one that I could give no more than 3 stars. If I hadn’t been at the Barrowlands last year, I’d certainly have scored it higher, but it is really difficult, if not impossible, not to a gig and compare it with previous shows, especially when there’s not really been that much time between them.
The thing I most feel bad about being so frugal with the marking is that it wasn’t all down to the band. Yes, it’s a totally different kind of show than 2023, complete with backing singers/dancers whose contributions are spectacular, but whose involvement means the gig is more co-ordinated than it is spontaneous. The Barrowlands show had the band and audience feeding off one another’s energy in a way that wasn’t the case this time.
My main issue was with the venue. The Academy is a cavernous venue, a converted former picture house with a huge ceiling and balcony, which hosted its first gig in 2003. I’ve seen many acts of all genres over the decades, but very rarely have I come away fully happy as the sound usually ranges from passable to unlistenable. Maybe it’s the very height that makes it so difficult to get right, but it comes nowhere near that of the Barrowlands. It’s not as if converted cinemas elsewhere haven’t worked – the late and lamented ABC in the city centre, which burned down in 2018, was a great place to see and hear bands – but it’s always a feeling of dread when I find myself having to traipse to the Academy. This was my first time back since the pre-COVID days and I had hoped there may have been improvements in that period, but on the basis of last Friday, sadly no.
The Yard Act album is too new to be offering up any mp3s. Here’s a couple of videos instead.
The latter has a co-vocal from Katy J Pearson. It is insanely catchy. It also ends with a Shakespearian monologue courtesy of the always amazing David Thewlis which is insanely superb.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 