On the economically bomb blasted
landscape of the high-street there are increasingly less and less last shops standing.
No one needs a heads up from the
financial sector to be aware that independents have in the main waved the white
flag and soaped their windows up.
Nor do we need to listen to the
voices of doom from the stockbrokers to understand that the major players are
struggling to.
However, it is in ‘Love Music’ -
situated in the city centre of Glasgow - that we have a record store that Canute
like sits on the beach spinning records and holding the waves back with help
from their loyal customers.
Its door from the street could as
well be the back of the wardrobe that opens to reveal a musical Narnia.
A magical world populated by
creatures made of sound.
A cornucopia of aural delights
lies within, and whenever I make a daylight trip to the city I am always
assured of a warm welcome.
This time the trip is not made
with the intent to secure yet another album/single or DVD for my collection
though, but instead it’s to enjoy an afternoon of live music from Glasgow
neo-rock and rollers “The Shiverin’ Sheiks” who are looking to draw attention
to the release of their debut album “A Curious case of…”.
Squeezing into the corner of the
store the four piece, resplendent in matching suits, set up their drums and
vintage amps, and then with an introduction from frontman Dave Dixon that is
part carnival barker, part 50’s radio DJ hosting a bop, the band are off and
running.
While most may immediately jump
to the era that the band are paying homage to it’s the Beatles circa 1960 to 1962
- when they played the Bierkellers of Hamburg - that springs to my mind.
The period when the nascent mop toppers
were more interested in playing sets of amphetamine fuelled covers of their
rock and roll idols instead of working on being the band that shook the world.
Another hint to that being a
second hand influence is in the double hint of the band name and their inclusion
of the old jazz standard “The Sheik of Araby”. A track that featured on the
Decca demos that failed to secure the fab four a deal.
Regardless of where the bands roots
are located though it’s a fine set of songs that they display.
Slow Down, The Larry Williams
classic - that was also covered by the Beatles on their Long Tall Sally ep - is
as vibrantly frenetic as modern audiences would expect, a tip of the fedora to
Bing Crosby comes from the leftfield and impresses, and the Big O gets the
Shiverin’ Sheiks work out that no one would complain about, while Cadillac,
made famous by Bo Diddley, is for me the jewel in a glittering crown as the
band deliver the evergreen backing-vocals that the song requires to shine.
It would be easy to claim the
band have all eight feet firmly planted in the past, but I’d take issue with
that as the music that they are playing is timeless after all.
The double bass being slapped, the
trembling guitar as a backdrop to sharper picking, and a drum beat that has
been luring teenagers onto the rocks of rebellion since the fifties, is
something that needn't be carbon dates as right here in 2014 it holds exactly
the same amount of power as it always has, and it would be fair to say that
with The Shiverin Sheiks it’s in safe hands.
From beginning to end the band
deliver on all fronts.
Forgive another Beatles
reference, but in regards to this beat combo, where are we going lads?
To the toppermost of the
poppermost is the correct answer of course.
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