If donning a turtleneck sweater,
sporting a goatee, carrying a book written by Sartre and attempting to pull off
the wearing of a beret while clamping your lips around the electronic version
of a Gitane between quoting Kerouac is your sort of thing then the Old
Hairdressers is probably your type of drinking den.
The neat mohican and over large
beard combo also fits in nicely with the décor to.
As does the baring of the hairy
ankle as the ongoing sans socks fashion statement continues to dent the profits
of the hosiery market.
None of this is however a problem
for me as I am of a vintage that considers hipster hate to be a rather immature
response to people just doing what they want, but it is fair to say that the
venue does attract a certain demographic that could encourage the owners to
rebrand under the banner of Hipster Heaven.
On entering the place my first
thought was ‘Oh this is where people go when Costa in Waterstones closes’, but
it was honestly just an observation rather than a criticism.
The bijou no frills upstairs
space that is set aside for exhibitions and gigs was however very different.
It really is simply a space that
lends itself to being filled with anything, and for this evening it was to be a
Stripped Session from STG promotions who had coaxed Daniel Wylie out to play a
bare bones acoustic set supported by an act called Bullit.
A band who I have just noticed
are a sh away from an unfortunate moniker.
They are of course not full of it
though, and instead are a very talented trio who play material that hovers
around settling on west coast garage psychadelia that would comfortably exist
on an acoustic pebbles album.
There’s also the residue of the
Britpop years hanging off the material, but not to the extent that the songs
sound like a homage to fag end years of Oasis and Blur trying to outdo each
other in the ‘are they still arguing’ stakes.
It’s more just some shading and
mainly sits on the shoulders of the swagger the vocalist has.
All in it’s not a bad thing and
allows the songs to spread out over a few eras and draw in the listener.
The harmonizing and additional
backing vocals that filled the sound out deserve to be highlighted as it is
their well handled inclusion that lifts the band from being a good one to
something with a bit more to them.
The addition of a reworked Black
Crowes song was a bit of a surprise, but a welcome one.
As opening acts go it’s doubtful
that anyone felt short changed with their performance and it’s actually a no
brainer to say that others should check them out if they have the opportunity.
Meanwhile the Daniel Wylie
performance was less of a gig and more of a gathering of the clans.
With it being billed as an
intimate performance it certainly lived up to that with the audience seemingly
being made up of mainly family and friends with a smattering of fans.
Either that or Daniel knows
literally everyone.
With dedications being made,
anecdotal stories being told and a guest appearance from his son this was a
show that could be used as the template for other artists to learn from.
It’s probably all to do with
promoting a relaxed balance and keeping the flow of chat and songs going until
they pick up their own momentum, but with so many trying to achieve this and
failing it’s worth mentioning how effortlessly Daniel, along with Neil
Sturgeon, managed it.
It’s certainly a nice touch, and
one that doesn't seem to be contrived in anyway.
As for the music there is only
one word to describe it and that’s sublime.
From start to finish it really
did hit the heights.
While I'm happy to admit to being
a fan of Cosmic Rough Riders, and Daniels solo material, I never really picked
up on how big REM were as an influence until this show, and I have no idea why.
It’s just so bloody obvious.
Maybe it was sitting in some
aural blind spot, hanging about on the periphery of what I was hearing, but
it’s down to me for not picking up on something that was probably screaming
right in my face ‘look at me, look at me’
Live it really does come to the
fore though, and it is probably more apparent with the material being stripped
down to the basics of just voice and guitar.
With an excellent rendition of The
One I Love they just nailed their colours to the mast of the boys from Athens , Georgia
Sort of maybe edging on feeling
privileged.
One of the most impressive things
that I picked up on was that this show as not hung on a nostalgia peg, and
there was no real push from the audience for Daniel and Neil to provide a trip
down memory lane with an all Cosmic Rough Riders set at the expense of them
showcasing post CRR material.
Instead everything was equally
welcomed and appreciated, and that’s something that is as rare as a natural tan
being seen at any Glasgow
taxi rank at 3am.
So big round of applause for the audience
whose openness to appreciate the music in its entirety restored my ever increasingly
cynical view of live events not really attracting music fans.
Thankfully last week I didn't say
that I would eat my hat if I was to experience a night like that as right now I
would have to be biting down on it, and that would have broken my heart as I really
do love my hat.
However no matter how good the night
was it was made even better by the company.
I was stunned in the nicest possible
way to hook up with friends from Newcastle
who surprised me by attending unannounced.
A real icing on the cake part of the
evening and one I hope is repeated sooner rather than later.
Take a bow Billy and Elaine for making
my night better than I could have dreamed of.
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