Arab Strap live

Went to see arab strap play live at the leadmill on saturday evening. It's ages since I've been to a gig, so it was good to see a band I've admired for ages. Janet got me a cheap ticket cos she knows some members of a local band called Corleone, who were the first support act. They were pretty good, especially their first tune. A blend of guitars and feedback not unlike mogwai and God Speed! You Black Emperor, with hints of 65 days of static. Which is i guess their achilles heel - though sounding very good - there wasn't a distinctiveness in their sound to make them stand out from the crowd. That said I'd rather listen to their music then a lot of the rubbish on the radio and in the charts. If I was a dj I'd give them and airing.

The second band were my latest novel the latest of the great bands hailing from Glasgow. An intersting indie art rock making good use of vocal harmonies. Tunes that will grow on me I'm sure - definate potential, though the sound mix wasn't great and the crowd were a bit too noisy to appreciate them fully.

Finally Arab Strap took the stage, and were sounding great - the best I've heard Aiden. His lyrics, though quite rude, are so enlightening and witty. Some of his comments can be so cutting. Malcolm's guitar work is magnificent to view live, he really is a master at it, as his solo albums bare testimony. They fuse melancholia with wonderful riffs that build to some awesome crescendos. They'd also employed the talents of Alan Barr on cello and keyboards. He's played with the delgados since their first album and I've gotten to know him from my many gigs (I like to think of him as my rock star friend!). It was good to chat with him and enquire about the music scene in scotland, and I also got to mock him for his performance. During one song he was supposed to play the backing strings on the keyboard, but as he brought his hands down in dramatic fashion - nothing, no sound. He realised his keyboard wasn't plugged in, and had to quickly chase the lead through the jumble on the floor and fix the problem. He also mentioned that he's heard some of Emma Pollock's solo material (ex delgado) and that it is brilliant. Can't wait to hear it myself.