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"Looks like this might be a
mistake" offers Aidan Moffat. Maybe. Celtic Connections
- essentially a folk festival - is expanding its horizons. But
maybe booking these legendary Falkirk pissheads is going too
far? In fact, the boys (just Aidan and Malcolm, in acoustic mode)
seem strangely sober tonight, perhaps due to their sharing a
bottle of water - and the audience - a mix of Strap fans
of old and slightly bemused folkies - seem happy enough to see
them. Having got over the disappointing 'Elephant Shoe' album
the boys celebrate their return to Glasgow with a mix of tracks
from 'Philophobia' and newie 'The Red Thread'. And tonight's
set bodes well for the future as the songs from the forthcoming
album stand up well without the layered instrumentation usually
afforded them. So, stripped-down, 'The Devil and 'Amor Veneris'
work just as well as 'Packs of Three' and 'Soaps'. Welcome back
then. |
Bassist Stuart Henderson arrives
onstage carrying what appears to be the result of a successful
raid on an off-licence. Looks like we're in for a long one, but
at least we know what happened to Arab Strap's rider. This is
something of a farewell to 'The Great Eastern', being perhaps
the last time the band will play it in its entirety, and they're
going out on style - 14, perhaps 15 musicians onstage including
tubular bells, brass, and a couple of string quartets. Overkill?
Oddly, no. This is the lavish production that Dave Friddman brought
to the album finally made flesh - the sweeping strings of 'Knowing
When to Run' introduce the entourage and from there it's a journey
through that strange land where Mercury-approval meets the Peel
show. There are a couple of nods to 'Peloton' though these perhaps
understandably work less well with the big production, although
'Blackpool' is a rumbling biting beast of a song which will still
be giving the folkies nightmares. The band finally depart after
a majestic '13 Gliding Principles' where past meets present perfectly.
Nope, in the Chemikal Underground camp, they're getting things
just right. |
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