SSE Hydro

Travis; The Man Who 19th Anniversary – SSE Hydro

Live music, Music Review

You don’t need an excuse to listen to Travis’ 1999 sophomore album The Man Who; it’s a beautiful, timeless record loaded with endearing melodies, vibrant acoustic guitars and po-faced love songs. It’s the sort of album you listen to because you still like it, because you can’t remember a time when you didn’t like it, and probably because you can remember a time in your life when it didn’t exist and that time wasn’t as good. It’s polarising in that sense; life before and life after The Man Who. Music before, and music after. If you’ve welcomed this album into your life then you know what I’m talking about. Released in the wake of Britpop when pastiche was less of a trend, The Man Who marked a turning point, or at least a dividing line, in pop music. Without any knowing guidance, and despite being sonically informed by Oasis at the time, Travis came to define the sensitive sound of the four-piece male rock band at the turn of the century. Their iconic songs, loved or loathed, dominated radio the world over and lead the way for so many bands to follow from Coldplay through Snow Patrol and up to Mumford & Sons.

In light of this then, Travis themselves need no excuse to celebrate and tour the album that launched them into the pop-rock stratosphere so many years ago. 19 years ago, in fact. 19 is not a significant anniversary but The Man Who is a great album so why not? Fans want to hear it, the band want to play it. The music economy doesn’t get simpler than that these days. A run of shows earlier in the summer took in numerous venues across England, as well as some festival slots, so the final two-weeks of 2018 bring them around again and home to Glasgow’s SSE Hydro just in time for Christmas, and 2 years to the day since they last played here on the Everything At Once Tour.

Isle of Lewis singer songwriter Colin Macleod released one of the year’s best albums in Bloodlines and as the first of two supports for the night he delivers stripped back renditions of five songs from the record, as well as a melancholy interpretation of Ring of Fire. Beautifully understated and delicate from beginning to end, his set feels naturally calm amid the excitement and anticipation of the evening. He concedes his own disbelief at opening the show, admitting that Writing To Reach You was the first song he ever played. Right now though his own songcraft is fully matured and his confidence on stage serves him well, alone in the spotlight.

The second support are relative “old favourites” of Travis’ audience, and certainly owe a debt to the acoustic rock path paved by The Man Who. That said Turin Brakes have never stood in the shadows and since touring with Travis in 2001 they have remained friends and contemporaries, not rivals. Their divergent musical roads couldn’t be better exemplified than in tonight’s performance. A 10-song set draws from across their catalogue, never focussing heavily on one period and certainly not trading on nostalgia, but rather offering a cohesive sonic representation of where the band are now. And it’s a great sound. They’ve always been known to indulge their rock tendencies in the live setting and tonight is no exception. They’re clearly having a lot of fun; whether it’s because they’re out to impress as a support act, or because they don’t have the pressure of headlining, it doesn’t seem to matter, their performance is top shelf. Older hits like Painkiller and Underdog are reworked with fresh intros and some mint distortion on the acoustic guitars. If anyone walked in during Black Rabbit expecting a Travis concert they’d be very surprised by the rambling proggy jam happening on stage. It keeps on the sunny side of excess though and the band are sent off with just the appropriate level of enthusiasm ahead of the main act.

I want to be objective about what happened next but there’s an obvious reason I bought a ticket for this show. Here instead are some facts about the gig:

Between support sets Fran Healy came out to the barrier and met fans, shook hands, posed for photos, signed things, chatted to people.

On stage Fran wore a kilt and a “Zion Lutheran Cougars” t-shirt identical to the one he wore in the video for Why Does It Always Rain On Me?

Andy Dunlop got very sweaty, very quickly.

Dougie Payne smiled a lot.

The band played The Man Who from start to finish, including its hidden track Blue Flashing Light, and then left the stage.

The second half of the set comprised a “best of” selection of singles and closed with a Christmas medley, accompanied by a couple of brawling jakey Santas.

But what was it like? Well honestly, it was pretty special. The nature of a start to end album show is that inevitably a band has to play their hits as they lie, i.e. Driftwood, Turn and Why Does It Always Rain On Me? went out in the first half. It’s unorthodox to play your biggest single in the first hour of your show and it felt a bit strange to be pogo-ing  so early in the night but the other side of this is that the band get to play some songs that otherwise wouldn’t make it onto the usual setlist. I haven’t heard Last Laugh of the Laughter in years and the harmonies were sweeter than I can ever remember. It was perhaps the only song that sounded different from the album version, and only because of the strength of the backing vocals, the rest was very true to the original sound. Another take on this format is that some of the band’s more challenging songs also have to come out. Much as they might be endeared to the hardcore fandom moments like Luv and She’s So Strange were reminders of why The Man Who was critically derided as a collection of “sad” “ballads”, the latter in particular proving a bit of a stretch for Fran’s vocal chords. But there were fond memories and pleasing anecdotes to go along with these old songs and the band have never lost their wondrous humour which always keeps their live shows so engaging and entertaining.

The second half of the set highlighted a few other things about The Man Who. Firstly, that the significance of the album to fans cannot be understated; once upon a time these were some of the only Travis songs in existence and they were adored mightily and whole-heartedly which, in the context of the live show, means the album falls so naturally and familiarly on the ears that it sounds like a “best of” in itself, even up against the established singles like Side and Closer. Every song is so well received. Secondly, that Travis’ true nature has always been as a rock band. From the opening chord of Blue Flashing Light the atmosphere in the arena is completely changed, electrified, amplified. The Man Who happens to be a cohesive collection of quiet songs and there are many others in the catalogue (see The Invisible Band) but when given a platform, or an entire half a set, the band choose to play loud, choose to rock out, choose guitar solos, choose to traverse the stage, choose to jump off the drum kit. The Man Who is another side to that band but it was never the limit of their abilities or interests. Lastly, that Travis are a band from Glasgow and were they not, they would never have written as iconic a song as Why Does It Always Rain On Me? because where else in the world could they have found inspiration in the best audience of voices to belt out such an anthem?

C2C: Country To Country – SSE Hydro

Festivals, Live music, Music Review

C2C: Country to Country returned to Glasgow this year, bigger than ever, finding a new home at the SSE Hydro. Previous events had taken place across the way in the SEC Armadillo but such is the reach of country music in the UK now that only the biggest venues can facilitate a line-up like this one. With 3 stages running throughout the weekend, Scottish fans were shown the full spectrum of what passes for country music in 2018, showcasing local and international talents through a carefully curated programme of rising stars and number 1 hit-makers through to bona fide legends of the genre. Compered by BBC Radio Scotland presenter and resident country music aficionado Ricky Ross, the 3-day festival  provided the city with yet another world class cultural event.

Friday

Taking to the main stage first up, the highly anticipated debut of Midland was met with huge enthusiasm from the crowd, as if they were already a headline act. Performing songs from their recent album On The Rocks they needed little encouragement to get the party started; their retro country rock sound paired with tight harmonies and ZZ Top-esque stage antics was exciting to witness and songs like Altitude Adjustment  and Make A Little had people dancing out of their seats. Drinking Problem saw many pints and fists raised in celebration.

On the Spotlight Stage at the back of the arena Lukas Nelson was warmed by the affection of the crowd and delivered one of the highlight performances of the weekend in response. Despite initial sound issues from the tiny platform, his 3-song set with just guitar and a singularly resonant voice captivated the audience in hushed awe.

Backed by a 5-piece band Margo Price built on her performance song by song, leading with latest album opener Don’t Say It she flowed through the range of her songwriting with a graceful command of the stage. Whether jamming it out behind the drum kit on Cocaine Cowboys or flying solo at the piano for the achingly good All American Made, her energy was 100% concentrated on delivering her best performance. A fun and furious cover of Proud Mary closed the set on a massive high.

In contrast to the main stage whirlwind Ashley Campbell centred a stunningly understated performance, a distant satellite elevated amidst the expectant audience. Dedicating her brief set to her father she began with a delicate medley of some of his best-loved songs. Bringing a flood of emotion to the surface for so many fans, she followed it with her own touching tribute Remembering. A heart of stone could not resist breaking at her exquisite voice and playing. She is a tremendous asset to country music and a credit to her family.

Outside the arena at the Acoustic Stage James Edwyn without his Borrowed Band mates was providing some great original tunes and top banter for those assembled in the pop-up record store and adjacent bar. Although fairly low key the standard of performances on this stage was as good as anything you’d hope to see at a bigger show.

While the fresh talent was trying to make an impression this weekend Emmylou Harris glowed with mature professionalism and calming restraint. She demonstrates strength in her delivery, good humour and vibrancy, that allows her songs to stand alone. Her voice remains blissfully clear, even over a full band, and her words evoke wide-eyed nostalgia, as much for the landscape and lifestyle she depicts, as for the tradition of music she embodies. In the live setting all music is equal and the crowd reacts to every song like it’s their favourite. The Pearl could have easily ended the night but for one final act.

Little Big Town took up the challenge of following a living legend; no small feat, but they are no small band. With 8 albums worth of material to choose from they put together something of a ‘greatest hits’ selection to fill their headline slot, and fill it they did. There wasn’t much time for chat, there was mention of shopping and very little else, but the set moved seamlessly between big hits and ballads, sing-along pop songs and old style country foot stompers. Little Big Town have come a long way, musically, from where they started out nearly 2 decades ago but still at the core of their sound is a dynamic 4-part harmony that equips them well for filling out large arenas. Taking time during Little White Church to move among the crowd, they made their way onto the Spotlight Stage where they performed a stripped back set that really emphasised the calibre of their voices. The crowd swelled around the tiny stage as the band conjured an incredible intimacy with their attentive audience, bringing “the living room out here”. The spell wasn’t broken when they returned to the main stage either. Better Man and Can’t Go Back ascend and hang in the air with potent majesty before they’re rumbled by Tornado and Day Drinking.  When Boondocks comes to an end the room is exhausted but satisfied.

Saturday

Saturday saw the largest attendance over the weekend as co-headliners Faith Hill and Tim McGraw played only their first ever show in Scotland, part of their Soul2Soul world tour. Saturday brought out further subtle variations in the realm of country music, also pleasing a wider audience. Ryan Kinder and Morgan Evans each delivered rousing sets on the Spotlight Stage; the former with his soulful melodies and “Sass Squad” backing vocalists, and the latter with his “American band” loop pedal. Evans introduced and endeared himself with 2 hefty sing-alongs including the catchy single Kiss Somebody and crowd favourite Young Again. It was hard not to be charmed by his effervescent smile and sweetly optimistic lyrics.

Over on the main stage Brett Young turned on a show that saw many in the crowd up standing for the duration. Piano-lead ballad Mercy showed a tender side to the young Californian while Sleep Without You set the bounce right for Old Dominion to follow with their R&B infused twangy pop sound. Featuring songs from their latest release Happy Endings the set was loaded with chunky distorted guitar solos and boisterous choruses. Album opener No Such Thing as a Broken Heart “feels really good to sing as loud as you can” lead vocalist Matthew Ramsey assured the audience and so they obliged with many merry voices. Never taking their audience for granted the band made every effort to engage, with Ramsey abandoning the stage at one point to run high-fives across the front row. It was the kind of priceless performance you want to see at every festival, when a band sees they have everything to gain, and everything to lose, so they deliver with inspired tenacity.

Katee Kross provided sweet respite over at the Acoustic Stage for anyone needing to catch their breath. Her direct and heartfelt songwriting has already set her on a path to stardom and her refreshing Johnny Cash medley only furthered her reputation as an imaginative and entertaining performer.

Sparkling from head to toe and positively beaming, Kelsea Ballerini took to the main stage with the excited energy of a pantomime hero. She wasted no time laying out her arsenal of hit singles, willing the audience to sing along with irrepressible enthusiasm. The young star took her role of warm-up act very seriously, working the stage constantly to connect with as many fans as possible. “Faith Hill let me borrow her curling iron yesterday so I think we’re friends now” she declared at one point, clearly elated to be part of the same line-up. Although there were moments when her voice seemed overwhelmed by the band, songs like In Between and I Hate Love Songs, from her latest album Unapologetically, were given space and balance and really stood out.

When the moment finally arrived for headliners Faith Hill and Tim McGraw to emerge the atmosphere in the arena had shifted with so much anticipation, it was like another entire gig was about to start. Sure enough the Faith and Tim show lasted a solid 2 hours with hit after hit after hit. The Scottish fans who had waited so long to see this couple play here could only revel in the performance they were given. A cover of I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) opened the set as the pair took opposing positions on stage. They were rarely close, but for theatrical effect, yet they somehow owned the space between them, bonded despite the distance. On Like We Never Loved At All McGraw’s voice is almost indistinguishable from Hill’s, their innate harmony blending into one powerful sound. Break First provided another exquisite moment between them and as the show continued their strongest performances happened when they came together. Hill took the first half delivering some of her biggest pop country hits like This Kiss, Breathe and The Way You Love Me, even venturing right back to her very early years with Wild One. Putting everything behind her voice to rise above the very loud (10-piece!) band left her sounding strained and breathless so when McGraw returned for his lead it was almost a relief. Picking up the baton for traditional country he showed the crowd exactly how he earned his place at the top, giving as lively a performance as anyone half his age. And he had fun, pausing to absorb the energy of the audience between phrases, smiling eternally, signing autographs without missing a beat. He is a peerless professional in this arena. Humble and Kind and Live Like You Were Dying elicited almighty applause. As if more was required the couple closed out their performance with a spotlit duet of I Need You into a single microphone. Silence occupied the room as if a vacuum has consumed the audience right to the final note, the crowd errupting once more as the royal couple of country left the stage hand-in-hand.

Sunday

The final night of C2C: Country to Country was, for many fans, a crowd-splitter. While the previous 2 nights had walked a fairly thin line around mainstream country, Sunday’s line-up was a real stretch and showed a huge diversity of sounds. Lizzie Reid brought a quirky folk side to the Acoustic Stage while Catherine McGrath proved that Brits could do hook-driven country just as well as their American contemporaries. A heady blend of Appalachian folk and southern rock on the Spotlight stage gave just a taste of what Delta Rae could bring to a live show. On the brighter side A Long and Happy Life left a saccharine sweetness on the palate that could only be countered by the dark, brooding harmonies of Bottom of the River.

Luke Combs opened the main stage with his big and bashful country rock. Drinking with the boys, playing music, watching football, and inevitable heartbreak – it’s that kind of country – delivered with youthful directness by a guy with a drink in his hand; very convincing. Honky Tonk Highway, Let the Moonshine and Hurricane got the crowd fired up. It was fun, it was loud, it was early Sunday night.

With a huge following already Kip Moore joined the party with his feel good drinking anthem Beer Money and immediately had the arena behind him. His husky tone and driving guitar on recent album opener Plead the Fifth suggests he is a far more matured songwriter and performer now, and the way he kept the audience hanging on his every note of Pretty Little Girl and Guitar Man is further evidence to that. It was more than just entertainment.

The return of Sugarland after a 5 year hiatus provided the perfect buffer in Sunday’s line-up. An equally joyous contrast to all that came before and all that would follow, Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush were on top form, adding unassailable flair, glamour and soul into the mix. Nettles’ rendition of Stay was arguably the highlight, but mainly because it came at the end of a set where every song was as good as the last.

It would have been near impossible to top Sugarland, except by being nothing like Sugarland. Gratefully, Kacey Musgraves is nothing like Sugarland. And unlike any other headlining artist at the festival, rather than playing the ‘best of’ her catalogue, she used her set to showcase songs from her forthcoming 3rd album Golden Hour, not released until the end of the month. It was a bold move, even for a Grammy winning artist, yet it proved to be just what the night needed. Musgraves was completely herself; raw, poetic, sensitive and down-to-earth, she radiated from beneath her sparkly exterior. Older songs Silver Lining and It Is What It Is pulled at the heartstrings but it was the likes of Space Cowboy and the breathtaking Rainbow, with simple piano accompaniment on the Spotlight Stage, that were the real gut-punchers. In case Follow Your Arrow wasn’t a jubilant enough conclusion to the event, Musgraves returned for an encore that pushed right to the boundaries of country, finishing with the disco-infused number High Horse, which featured confetti cannons and giant luminous balls bouncing into the audience. It was an accomplished performance by the young artist; honest, funny, warm and uplifting. Very modern and very country.

Mogwai – SSE Hydro

Live music, Music Review

Sacred Paws power through songs from this year’s SAY Award winning debut ‘Strike A Match’. With a charming interplay between softened jangly guitars, shadowing the duelling vocal melodies of guitarist Rachel Aggs and drummer Eilidh Rodgers, the band have perfected their own style of sun-drenched post-punk, with the wit and wordiness of late eighties girl bands. Although quite fast-paced and light, in contrast to what is to come, it sets a good mood for the few hundred die-hard punters who have arrived early to get a good position for the night. The band are in high spirits too, smiling and bouncing around, firing through the songs with minimal banter. As they near the end of their time they consult on whether to drop a song from the set but decide not to. “We must be playing these really fast”, they note. They are actually, and the result is a few people jumping about down the front with more finding space to dance at the back, while on stage Aggs’ takes every short opportunity to move around, translating high energy guitar pop into kicks and nods within the small space between her microphone and amp. They wrap up the set with the album’s title track, dedicating it to everyone at Rock Action, who you imagine must be half the audience judging by its reception.

A brief turnaround brings revered English rock band Ride to the stage. A generous crowd has assembled for the beginning of their set, at least four or five times greater than that present for Sacred Paws, and the audience reaction is as enthusiastic as any headliner would hope to receive.  The band lead off with ‘Lannoy Point’ and ‘Charm Assault’ from this year’s highly acclaimed comeback album ‘Weather Diaries’ before indulging the audience with a mix of old favourites from their earliest records, that blend cohesively without sounding immature, worn or dated. Ride prove an excellent and popular choice of support for Mogwai, matching their beautiful darkness through droning distorted guitars, grinding bass and dreamy vocals, whether from Mark Gardener or Andy Bell, that float and cascade over a wall of sound. Ride are natural forerunners to the timeless guitar-heavy sound that Mogwai have become renowned for. Their own brand of psychedelic fuzz pop captures the audience and before long everyone is either swaying along or rocking with fists in the air. There’s no question about these veterans; Ride are as good as they ever were, if not better, and the swooning crowd responds as though they’ve already had their money’s worth from the night.

Ride

There’s a calm but expectant energy in the room – a lot of people with earplugs at the ready – and a look around the crowd reveals more and more familiar faces. It says everything about a band and their place within the industry that the whole Scottish music scene has come out to see them play their biggest hometown show. Providing an auspicious welcome to the stage then is the merriest of them all, none other than Aidan ‘Santa’ Moffat, fully fitted in festive attire and accompanied by sleigh bells.

A Mogwai concert is really a living art installation; the band sculpt a physical environment out of sound and the audience is at once integrated and yet completely apart from it. That environment can be dense, heavy, coarse, dark and it can be fragile, bright and spacious. Such is their command of dynamics and frequency that with only elementary rock instrumentation they reimagine vast, orchestral landscapes. It’s the very height of drama; at one moment the audience is completely mesmerised by Alex Mackay’s guitar droning as delicate as a slowly drawn bow across a violin until suddenly Cat Myers’ drumming erupts as if to signal the end of days. But for the lyrical ‘Party In The Dark’ from new album ‘Every Country’s Sun’, barely a word is said in the one hour and forty-five minute set but for Stuart Braithwaite’s regular “thank you” or “thanks very much”. Words are not required. Stage lighting weaves back and forth, up and down, crafting a blanket of colours around the band.  Silhouettes around the room create an eerie animation and at times the strobing becomes so intense that it forms a cloud around the stage, freezing the band in a monochrome diorama while the music overrides all other senses. The crowd goes willingly on this journey, watching from the outside until the space between simply melts away; waves of sound and light washing over every surface.

Mogwai

The set winds powerfully towards its close with favourites ‘Mogwai Fear Satan’ and ‘Remurdered’  before finishing with new song ‘Old Poisons’. But it’s only just gone 10.30pm and the crowd are howling out for more. Guitars are still ringing and the room is dark. After a minute the band return to the stage for a three song encore. A deep orange light paints the stage in a magnificent sunset throughout ‘Every Country’s Sun’. It’s appropriately cinematic. Braithwaite delivers his final thank yous before descending into the beautiful ‘Auto Rock’, followed in jagged contrast by ‘We’re No Here’. Blinding golden light splits the stage as the last notes resonate until the very last second and fans are left basking in the glory of all that has been. Looking around at the smiling faces half-silhouetted by the brilliant glow of the Mogwai supernova, no-one can hide the warmth that penetrates their soul, that continues to burn long after the dark silence falls.