Cam Penner and Jon Woods. Blackfriars Bar, Glasgow. Saturday 8th November

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On a rain soaked and cold Saturday night in Glasgow the troglodyte trappings of the cellar in Blackfriars offered a warm and dry repose. The cave like comparison seems apt as it was a bear of a man, big, bearded, cradling a tiny four stringed acoustic guitar, who emerged from the shadows to mesmerise the audience for the next hour or so. Cam Penner looks ferocious, a look belied by his easy going and gentle introductions, but when he sang he drew the audience into a different world, one that’s sparse, cold, steeped in nature and history. Be it the reminiscences of Once A Soldier, the spectral Ghost Car or the gutbucket blues of Memphis Penner preached,crooned and hollered, stalking the stage, gently picking his guitar or banging a drum kit.

Cradled in the corner throughout this was Penner’s foil, fellow Canadian Jon Wood who conjured sounds from a variety of instruments and effects. On guitar, Wood ploughed the blues as sweet, sad and occasionally savage notes flew from his fingers while his lap steel added colour and atmosphere. Integral as his guitar efforts were to the show it was Wood’s use of a sampler which created a twilight zone where ghosts dwelled and shadows beckoned while sampled keyboards added to the tapestry of the sound.

Together the pair delivered a show that cut to the bone with occasional shivers to the spine as Penner spun his tales and wove a web that tantalisingly drew us in to a world far removed from a rainy Glasgow night. A trip to a heart of darkness drawn from Penner’s life and country that the Glasgow punters for the most part live vicariously but for the duration of the show we were in the wilderness with this big-hearted man as our guide.

There’s still time to catch Penner and Wood this week, dates here:

Nov 13 Kirkcaldy, Nov 14 Woodend Barn Banchory, Nov 15 Blue Lamp Aberdeen, Nov 16 Harbour Arts Centre Irvine

The Howlin’ Brothers & Ten Gallon Bratz. Admiral Bar, Glasgow. 16/10/14

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Fresh from the recent Glasgow Americana Festival The Fallen Angels Club have wasted no time in bringing some more top-notch acts to the city. For the Tennessee trio, The Howlin’ Brothers, this was their first time in Scotland (in the UK in fact), riding the wave generated by their recent album, Trouble, released on Brendan Benson’s label, Readymade Records (and reviewed here). First thing to say about them is that they have probably the coolest hat line up we’ve seen in some time. Straw Boater, black crumpled Trilby and stained Stetson sat atop the magisterial musical skills of Ian Craft (fiddle, banjo, kick drum), Ben Plasse (double bass) and Jared Green (guitar and fancy footwork). Aside from the hats the most pleasing thing about the band was their versatility and the variety of the songs they played. Bluegrass, blues, jug band, Cajun and country all tumbled from the stage with all three taking vocal duties on their respective songs.

From the off it was clear that this was going to be great fun as Craft’s fiddle and Green’s amplified step dancing bounced through the room while Plasse’s risqué Boogie showed that they can slow the tempo and still thrill. In a fairly lengthy set they ploughed through their two albums along with some cuts from their new Sun Sessions EP with the likes of the mighty George Jones country waltz of World Spinning Round and the bluesy swoon of Tennessee Blues standing out. Green’s Louisiana steeped Monroe showed that these Tennessee boys can wade through the bayou while The Boatman Dance positively reeked of chicken scratching’ dirt porch old timey American music and was a delight to see and hear. It was even more invigorating when the band later covered John Hartford’s Julia Belle Swain, another song steeped in Americana lore. Perfectly paced, the band ramped it up towards the end with Pack Up Joe a revved up road song while Hard Times stomped along with a defiant attitude. Ending with a fine Cumberland Gap The Howlin’ Brothers came across as a fine patina stained capture of some of the best rootsiest music we’ve heard in some time and this was reflected in the audience’s participation as the set progressed ’till the end when there were folk dancing at the back and the handclaps and whoops were drowning out the band. Catch them if you have the chance.

The night opened with a fine set from local chaps, Ten Gallon Bratz, high on a recent review for their album, Tales From The Long Shadows from R2 Magazine. Stripped of the album backing they entertained with three guitars and three voices recalling the likes of Poco and (early) Eagles opening with an acappella rendition of Hole In The Ground while Poor Man’s Money resonated with the audience. All in all a fine night.

The Howlin’ Brothers have a few more UK dates coming up http://thehowlinbrothers.com/shows/

The Wynntown Marshals and The King Lot. Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh. Friday 10th October

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Friday night at The Voodoo Rooms was essentially a celebration and culmination of a great year for The Wynntown Marshalls. With their celebrated album, The Long Haul reissued on Blue Rose Records, a European tour and some very special support slots (Sons Of Bill, Chuck Prophet) behind them they’re now set on recording a follow up. Playing on their home turf was an opportunity for the band to say thanks to some dedicated fans and those fans responded by turning up mob handed. A score or more from Ireland (who know The Marshals from The Kilkenny Roots Festival) along with a German contingent joined local supporters with the result that the Voodoo Rooms were packed to the gunnels.

The Marshals barrelled their way through a fine set list that featured songs from The Long Haul and its predecessor Westerner with Low Country Comedown setting the bar high from the start followed by the balladry of All That I Want and Whatever It Takes. Crashing (Like The Reds) and Canada upped the tempo before some new songs were introduced which maintain the Marshals grasp of churning country rock with a heart and a hard edge boding well for the new album.

From here on in it was a rollercoaster ride through old favourites Driveaway, You Can Have My Heart, a crowd favourite it seems, and the magnificent swell of Tide which gets more epic every time I hear it live. Blindsided, a song from their 2008 debut was given a lengthy outing before Change Of Heart came across like a punchy Neil Young with his Stray Gators. Wonderful stuff indeed but the encore was outstanding as they threw down a thrilling and fun filled rendition of Ballad Of Jayne, the L.A. Guns song that the Marshals can probably now claim to own. Speeded up and with snatches of Walking On Sunshine, Tracy’s Mom and Sweet Jane thrown in as the band flailed away with Jason from support band The King Lot adding his voice it was a tremendous closer as the packed crowd went wild and joined in. All in all it was a great curtain closer to a great year for the band and the beginning of an exciting future.

Support for the evening was from the hard rock trio, The King Lot who put away their amps for the night to present an acoustic set that made up the lack of noise with some fine sensitive and humorous moments. So accomplished was this that it was a surprise to find out later that this isn’t their normal setup. Have a listen to their acoustic rendition of Until My Dying Day on Soundcloud for a taste of what they were like.

The Wynntown Marshals

The King Lot

Blue Rose Code/M. G. Boulter/Wrenne. The Glad Cafe, Glasgow. Wednesday 1st October.

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Blabber’n’Smoke has to admit that it’s a bit of a latecomer to the music of Blue Rose Code, the vehicle for Edinburgh born Ross Wilson’s song poetry. A chance hearing of Boscombe Armistice on Celtic Music FM a few weeks ago stopped us in our tracks as this winsome pedal steel laced gem wafted from the speakers and Wilson’s Scots burr crooned about his granny saying he’d start a fight in an empty hoose. I suppose we’re much more used to hearing Scottish accents in songs these days with The Proclaimers leading the way while you wouldn’t contemplate King Creosote or Aidan Moffat adopting a transatlantic drawl. But there was more here, the song conjured up memories of Van Morrison’s Veedon Fleece and even Astral Weeks with its haunting quality and impressionistic feel. In these instant internet days the album The Ballads of Peckham Rye was almost immediately summoned up and pretty much floored me. A magnificent trawl from Leith to London with side trips to the corner of the northern isles to the peak of the antipodes the album is a psychogeographic trip as Wilson summons up a mystic Celtic hinterland finely balanced by a couthy Scottishness that would be familiar to readers of The Broons. As for the music it inhabits that folk/jazz hybrid that Morrison invented on Astral Weeks along with nods to Jackie Leven and John Martyn, helped indeed by having the legendary Danny Thompson on double bass duties.
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The Ballads Of Peckham Rye came out on CD a few months ago but this week was given a vinyl release and in tandem with this Wilson assembled a road troupe for a short tour. The show at The Glad Cafe was packed to the rafters and accordingly blisteringly hot, however the audience stalwarts were rewarded with a show that surely rates as one of the best of the year. A mini revue almost, both support acts were plucked from the Blue Rose Code line up with Wilson introducing them. First up was Wrenne, a singer he first encountered “playing a nylon strung guitar, barefoot, at a Secret Garden Party.” Singing songs from her forthcoming album along with a cover of Steven Merrit’s The Book Of Love her voice impressed, an opinion confirmed later as she sang some magnificent harmonies in the main set. Next up was M. G. Boulter, pedal steel gunslinger for the likes of Simone Felice when he’s in town. Boulter’s pedal steel graces The Ballads of Peckam Rye but he’s also a solo artist and a member of Southend’s The Lucky Strikes. His acoustic set saw him in a line of succession from Loudon Wainwright III and Alan Hull, bare boned songs that have a bleak yet hopeful outlook. Descriptive of Southend On Sea, chip shops, ice cream men (and their demise) featured but his best was the wonderful and evocative Once I Was from his fine album, The Water Or The Wave.

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The stage was well set then for Blue Rose Code, tonight a five piece with Wilson at the front, Boulter on pedal steel and Dobro and Wrenne on harmony vocals along with Nico Bruce on double bass and Lyle Watt playing acoustic guitar and mandolin. From the off it was obvious that this was going to be something special. Rippling guitars introduced Silent Drums before Bruce’s bass burbled into action sucking the audience into the slipstream. Wrenne’s vocals slipped and slid around Wilson, recalling that other vocal duo Birds Of Chicago, as the band gently billowed like a fine wind pushing the ship forward with Lyle Watt’s guitar embroidering the sound. Wilson took us on a journey that went back to his childhood with Ghosts Of Leith via Edina up to his London travails on Whitechapel (where he slipped in a Drumchapel to some applause). Come The Springtime was described as a hope for the future and comes across as a magnificent update to what one might imagine to be a traditional Scots song. Norman McCaig’s poem, True Ways Of Knowing was acknowledged by Wilson as an example of his late flowering into the highways and byways of Scottish literature and it’s an excellent example of written poetry set to music, a feat repeated later in the encore.

Introducing Matthew Boulter earlier Wilson declared that he had always wanted some pedal steel on his records but later said that he was reluctant to participate in the Americana Music Awards as he “wasn’t country.” The Right To Be Happy was his attempt to write a country song and tonight it swung with a fine country heft while several other songs certainly cantered into a country trot. The Hibernian folk swing persisted through the night and culminated in the first encore with Wilson and Wrenne delivering a powerful rendition of Hugh McDiarmid’s poem Scotland. Finally the band came out to perform the excellent This Is Not A Love Song which allowed them to stretch out and improvise, recalling Soho folk blues such as Pentangle in their heyday although Wilson brought it back to earth with his couthy declaration ” time after time it’s the same old shite,” a wonderful mishmash of folk purity and Scottish bare faced cheek. Overall the impression was of a magnificent warm and enveloping wit and humanity with Wilson and his players producing the finest night of the year so far.

The Stray Birds. Fallen Angels Club. Glasgow CCA. Thursday 11th September.

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Glasgow welcomed the Pennsylvania roots trio The Stray Birds last night with the band riding high on the news that they’ve been signed onto the roster at Yep Roc records who will release their second full length album, Best Medicine, in October. Their appearance at Celtic Connections earlier this year was one of CC’s highlights and tonight they basically repeated their set from back then but as the old adage goes if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. They’ve obviously racked up some serious fans with song requests galore throughout the set and had it not been for the auditorium set up I’m sure there would have been some serious jigging going on. If nothing else their simple set up, Maya de Vitry and Oliver Craven on various instruments (banjo, fiddle and guitar) with Charles Muench the anchor on double bass works beautifully with all three well attuned to each other and well capable of kicking up a veritable shitstorm when required. Lead vocals revolved throughout the night with each taking the spotlight in turn as the others offered their harmonies leaning into a single voice mic. A veritable holy trinity of string band excellence.

While their stirring instrumentals such as Give That Wildman a Knife/Bellow’s Falls/Waiting on a Hannah fired up the crowd and Muench’s sly delivery of Make Me A Pallet On The Floor and Blue Yodel No. 7 where expertly staged the band showed that they have the song writing chops to distinguish them from the many other string band revivalists around these days. Dream In Blue and Harlem showcased de Vitry, sultry and down-home while Craven’s tribute to The Stanley Brothers and the loam of his land, My Brother’s Hill was somewhat breathtaking while he cod confessed to murky misdemeanours on No Part Of Nothing, a fine slice of old time bravado. Best Medicine, the title song from the forthcoming album bodes well for the band as de Vita commanded attention on a paean to old-fashioned record stores that could be seen as a musical equivalent to the loss of Sam The Lion in The Last Picture Show. Despite the sense of loss in the song it seems that the new album will be available on vinyl so there’s some hope therefore that at the very least The stray Birds might have a Technicolor moment.

The new album is availabe to preorder here

website

Robbie Fulks. The Admiral Bar, Glasgow. Friday 8th August, 2014

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A packed crowd attended this show from North Carolina born, Chicago based Robbie Fulks on this his first visit to Glasgow in around seven years and it’s a fair bet that a good percentage of them were at his last concert given the familiarity with his songs on evidence tonight. Taking time out from a UK tour with The Mekons to appear here while his companions headed up to Inverness prior to their show at Belladrum, Fulks elected not to have a night off citing his affection for promoters The Fallen Angels Club and recalling that he played their first ever Glasgow Americana festival all those years ago.

A tall guy, Fulks just about had headroom in this cellar bar but his main concern was the lack of air conditioning as the place was like an oven even before he came on. He didn’t complain mind you, instead it became part of his comic patter which throughout the show threatened to outshine his performance of his excellent songs. Hugely funny at times he gave us a great impression of Jonathon Richman as if he were a mixture of Spock and Napoleon Dynamite, imagined his pals, The Mekons, watching Tom Jones at Belladrum that night ( throwing in some Tom Jones’ hip shakes) while towards the end he freewheeled some improvised comic lyrics comparing Glasgow and Edinburgh and referencing Monty Python. If he weren’t such a great writer and performer he’d make a fine stand up comedian.

However we were here for the songs and Fulks rewarded us in spades. Opening with Georgia Hard his fine tenor voice had the audience spellbound while his guitar break was a fine reminder that he is a top notch picker. Rockbottom Population One followed before Fulks introduced a song from his latest album, Gone Away Backwards, explaining that the album was an opportunity to return to his roots with an acoustic bluegrass sound. Sometimes The Grass Is Always Greener certainly bore that out with his fine guitar work and lonesome voice sounding like a one man bluegrass band. Classic songs tumbled out of Fulks including I Push Right Over and, a highlight of the night and another song from Gone Away Backwards, I’ll Trade You Money For Wine where he placed a capo high on his guitar neck to produce a claw hammer effect and for a short time transported the bar to the Appalachians. This was shiveringly good.

Midway through Fulks asked for audience requests which were then thrown thick and fast at him and he obliged almost al. Cigarette State ( he congratulated the audience for laughing each time he repeated the line Alabama’s grand, the State not the band) featured another incredible guitar break which would give Richard Thompson a run for his money while Scrapple occasioned a great story on how he was offered a prime slot at a Scrapple convention before he enlightened the organisers on the lyrical content. The Buck starts Here was given a tremendous outing, again with an absurdly funny Owens story to go with it before closing requests with I Like The Bangle Girl. Let’s Kill Saturday Night ended the show before Fulks returned with his sublime doggerel and finely an upstanding She Took A Lot Of Pills And Died which had the crowd on their feet as he left the stage and walked around them.
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Soaked to the skin almost Fulks finished and headed straight to the merch table where he gracefully spoke to just about everyone in the room as they filed by. He was still there when we left humming several of his songs and wondering how long before he comes back. One of the best shows of the year so far.

Steve Earle/Monica Queen. Glasgow Kelvingrove Bandstand. Thursday 7th August.

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First opportunity to attend a show at the refurbished bandstand in Kelvingrove Park and what a change. Not so much in the venue but actually having a ticketed place to sit while the arena was enclosed by a battery of drink and food stands, OK if you dig cider and seemingly many of the audience did with a constant trail of imbibers climbing to and from their places for much of the evening and consequently ensuring that the inadequate toilet facilities had huge queues so that to spend a penny one missed several songs from the show. Anyway, gripe over, bar the fact that Kelvin Walkway was closed southward so that when the show was over the throng had to squeeze through a small park gate and in pitch black find their way to Sauchiehall Street, a potential disaster I thought.

On the bright side it was a bright day. Sunshine through the day had dimmed somewhat by evening although it remained warm and dry and once the sun had set and the arena lights came on it was a magical sight, adding to the warmth from the crowd to the man they had come to see. It was still daylight when Earle came on stage, solo, guitar, harp and mandolin to hand. This current tour is just him, his equipment and a suitcase, a minstrel zigzagging through Europe for around two months. His first show on the tour was at Perth’s Southern Fried Festival two weeks ago and while the show was fine there was a lack of spark, not something one generally expects from an Earle show. Tonight, with a similar set list (and the same anecdotes) Earle was revitalised, perhaps well warmed up after several shows, perhaps the venue (and Glasgow, there does seem to be a special relationship here), perhaps the audience reaction, singing along by the third song, going bananas for Galway Girl and crowding to stand in front of the stage like moths to a flame, dancing and generally, as we say here, giving it laldly. Whatever it was Earle fed on it with the end result a truly magnificent show.

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With such a back catalogue to choose from Earle could have played twice as long and still not satisfied everyone however the show followed a trajectory that allowed Earle to warm the crowd up before some breakup songs (he’s in the throes of yet another divorce it seems), songs that documented or were written when he was in the grip of his addiction before homing in with the expected crowd pleasers to finish. Having said that he opened the show with an unfamiliar song (Girl On The Mountain?) but swiftly followed up with My Old Friend The Blues and I Ain’t Never Satisfied, the latter with the audience joining in on the chorus. Taneytown was followed by the heartbreak songs Now She’s Gone and Goodbye with Earle quipping “same girl, different harmonica” in between. Sparkle and Shine showed his romantic bent while for Valentine’s day he delivered the first of his stories relating how he had to write the song as he couldn’t drive to buy flowers on Feb 13th as he didn’t have a licence before going on to berate the 14th as a ploy to sell cards. Romance done with Earle launched into a ferocious delivery of I Feel Alright which lifted the show up several notches, from her on in he could do no wrong. A heckler was shut up with Earle telling him he “didn’t have a fuckin’ say in what I play up here, this is my job man,” although later after he baited another shout out asking if he was on probation and had to get home early before his bracelet blew up, he did add that the request would come later.
South Nashville Blues was powerful with Earle demonstrating that armed only with a guitar he can transform misery into magic. At the end he said that the song made his addiction sound much more fun than it actually was before stating “welcome to my nightmare” and delivering a stark and equally powerful CCKMP. His announcement that he would be celebrating his twentieth year of recovery in September was greeted with applause. Earle then played tribute to the late Townes Van Zandt with a story and a rendition of Rex’s Blues followed by a mesmerising Fort Worth Blues. By now it was dark and a portion of the audience had started to drift towards the stage in a similar manner to the insects you could see swirling around the spotlights. A cheer erupted as Earle strapped on a mandolin and sure enough (after a slight sound hiccup) Dixieland, The Galway Girl and Tom Ames’ Prayer started the party portion of the gig. Dancing erupted, front stage and elsewhere as the Celtic elements of the songs ratified Earle’s hold on the Glasgow folk. A terrific tale about Earle’s then errant son Justin and a missing revolver led into the very spirited The devil’s Right Hand before Copperhead Road plunged some of the crowd into a frenzy. Earle returned for one song, prefaced by a lengthy introduction. He told us he was travelling to play in Tel Aviv in a few days time, an announcement that seemed to draw a gasp from some of the audience. Explaining that he was teaming up with a friend, David Broza, an Israeli peace activist who proposed to play a sunrise show at the ancient fortress of Masada on Sunday despite the show being cancelled by the authorities, Earle compared the pessimism of those who think of the Palestinian cause as a lost cause with his own past and recalled passing bomb detectors to check into hotels in Belfast back in the eighties, another lost cause back then that proves things can get better. This was soaked up by the crowd as Earle ended the night with Jerusalem, a demonstration not only of his artistic skill but also a reminder of his mighty heart.
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Pity poor Monica Queen who opened for Earle with partner Johnnie Smillie on guitar. The usual issues for opening acts were amplified with the grounds less than half full, folk queuing for their ciders and meeting, greeting and seating themselves down. In addition their amplification was barely adequate to carry to the back. Despite this Queen captured those folk at the front and the others paying attention with a fine set of songs. By the time they played an excellent cover of Wrecking Ball more folk were listening and the hometown road trip of The 260 allowed Queen’s yearning crystal clear voice full rein. With a switch to electric guitar for the last number, The Holiest Night, they created a small cathedral of sound despite the hubbub coming from the carnival of cider tents at the back.

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Southside Americana: The John Hinshelwood Band/Jack Law. The Glad Cafe. Sunday 29th June.

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Hot weather and world cup football on the telly aren’t particularly conducive to promoting gig attendance. So a big hurrah to those who turned out to see some local musicians in the intimate surroundings of Shawlands’ Glad Cafe.

John Hinshelwood has just released his excellent third album, Lowering The Tone and tonight (accompanied by guitarist Tim Black and bassist Ed McGlone) was a welcome opportunity to hear many of the songs from the album live albeit in a stripped down fashion along with a few selections from his previous albums. The opening Dangerous Journey (from Shattered Pleasures) immediately introduced us to the care free relaxed seventies LA vibe that Hinshelwod captures so well with the acoustic guitars strumming us along a desert highway, a feeling that was maintained on Radio Angel and A Few Shallow Moments. The band took a side step into Western Swing, no mean feat for a three piece (with Hinshelwood lamenting the lack of a fiddler here) on Tell Me Something with Black delivering a blistering solo (despite Hinshelwood’s “not too fast” aside to him as they launched into the song). American Lifestyle is one of Lowering The Tone’s highlights and tonight it proved to be one of the highlights of the set. With Black on mandolin it recalled Steve Earle’s Copperhead Road in its stompalong country delivery with an edge and had the requisite clapping and foot stomping from the audience.

While guitarist Black had the opportunity to shine on several of the songs with his Ry Cooder like slippery tone excelling on the JJ Cale groove of No Hiding Place (mixing too many musical metaphors here I know) bassist McGlone was a rock, anchoring the band and perplexing the audience when he strapped on his Chapman Stick, a wondrous looking contraption that offered depth and a woody warmth to the bass playing on several of the songs. Chapman

They had great fun duelling each other on the crowd-pleasing cover of Junior Brown’s My Wife Thinks You’re Dead whith Hinshelwood giving a fine deadpan delivery while the closing song, a cover of Smokey Robinson’s Tracks Of My Tears featured some very fine harmony vocals and a fine performance from Hinshelwood.

Support act Jack Law is a new name to Blabber’Smoke but it turns out he’s something of a veteran having been in a band called Greenmantle back in the seventies who appeared on a couple of occasions at the legendary Apollo. Now silver haired (and resembling Charlie Rich at times) Law has revived Greenmantle but tonight he was performing under his own name accompanied by Dougie Harrison on guitar and J.C. Dante on bass and mouth harp with the pair introduced by Law as “The No Spring Chickens.” Law’s roots in the past were evident from the opening when he offered a song written some years ago as a protest against the Iraq war. Powerful and polemic Law delivered it with gusto, veins a popping. He also railed against the Beeching cuts on Railroad Man, a bit late one might think but as he explained the railroad network has never recovered from this sixties butchery and the song itself was a fine railroad ballad with some neat slide guitar work from Harrison. There was more protest on As Any Fool Would Know which targeted the late and unlamented Maggie Thatcher recalling Lindisfarne in their heyday while the melody borrowed from Dylan’s You Ain’t Going Nowhere. Away from protest Law proved to be a fine writer with his paean to middle age romance, Heartache Ain’t For The Young a tremendous song with lyrics worthy of Loudon Wainwright III. With another country stomper delivered again on mandolin with some fine harp playing from J.C. on Old Glass Jar Law proved he still has plenty to deliver.

I think that Southside Americana is taking a summer break but Blabber’n’Smoke will post any news of forthcoming shows as they come in on the wire.

John Hinshelwood website

Jack Law website

Hank Wangford and The Lost Cowboys. O2 ABC Glasgow. Thursday 15th May.

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With his fine new double album, Save Me The Waltz, safely in his saddlebag veteran Hank Wangford ambled into town with his posse, The Lost Cowboys, in tow looking to entertain the folks on Sauchiehall Street.

Seriously this was a welcome return to Glasgow for Wangford who has roots in the city (which was his mother’s birthplace) with several audience members recalling fabled Mayfest community shows in the likes of Castlemilk Community Centre (although the primary recollection there was of the band having much of their gear nicked!). Tonight Wangford was backed by a stellar line up which included guitar and pedal steel wizards Martin Belmont (Ducks Deluxe, Graham Parker and The Rumour, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe and Carlene Carter) and BJ Cole (Cochise, Deke Leonard’s Help Yourself and innumerable sessions including Elton John’s Tiny Dancer along with appearances with REM, David Gilmour and Iggy Pop). Rock history in person! Aided and abetted by drummer Roy Dodds (ex Fairground Attraction) and bassist/harmony singer Anna (Spanner) Robinson (The Hallelujah Trails) the five piece set up was at times magnificent with Dodds and Robinson setting the pace with some aplomb while Belmont and Cole showed why they are so sought after as throughout the night they pulled out some astonishing licks.

Aside from the sheer pleasure of hearing some top notch musicians doing what they do best Wangford remains a singularly good frontman. Wearing his years very well (and looking as if he could well take up Kris Kristofferson’s Hollywood role as the wise and grizzled cowpoke should Kris ever retire) he commanded attention as he related his love of the country waltz and offered potted histories of some of the legends who wrote the songs including the unfortunately named Bollick Brothers who eventually saw sense and renamed themselves the Blue Sky Boys, as Hank said “you don’t have to make this up, it’s all out there.” With particular attention to Willie Nelson and George Jones, Wangford proselytised on their behalf and as the songs poured out the attraction was plain to see. Nelson’s Permanently Lonely and Half A Man along with Jones’ Brown To Blue and Golden Rings were well served while the essential banality of song titles such as He Forgot To Tell You He Was Married and Let’s Be Lonely Together Tonight was undermined by the heartfelt delivery.

Mischievous as ever Wangford delighted in picking up his ukulele and teaching the audience the choruses of several of the songs pointing out their simplicity all the while celebrating that self same simplicity. The audience duly sang along as the sorrowful waltz time songs surely invited some tears in beers in the back rows. With some fine low strung twang guitar and country runs along with weeping pedal steel or Dobro the venue was slowly transformed into a south west honky tonk. Ms. Robinson took lead vocals on the excellent Insured Beyond The Grave while Cole was afforded the opportunity to beguile us with an inspired dreamlike rendition of Santo and Johnny’s Sleepwalk , a tune that inspired him (along with Peter Green) all those years ago. And while most of the night was an invite to waltz with Wangford there were some moments when the band let rip with Baby In Black conjoining Nashville and Liverpool while He Forgot To Tell You He Was Married rocked with the energy and feel of Commander Cody’s Lost Planet Airmen. A magnificent night.

Dan Stuart. Glad Cafe. Glasgow. Thursday 1st May.

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This was a welcome return to Glasgow for one of our more perplexing musicians, Tucson raised and now domiciled in Mexico, Dan Stuart. Last time he played here the audience turnout was pitiful especially coming as it did only a few years after the sell out Green On red Reunion tour. Blame Stuart’s virtual retirement from the business or poor promotion. On this occasion however a packed venue bore testimony to Stuart’s once again rising profile and the sterling work done by promoter Kevin Morris’ The Fallen Angels Club who has astutely used social media and good old fashioned leafleting to ensure healthy turnouts for numerous shows around Glasgow.

With his last new release, The Deliverance of Marlowe Billings now two years old Stuart’s latest recorded offering was the release on Cadiz Music of two albums he recorded way back in the nineties, now repackaged as Arizona 1993-95. For the true fans (including one chap from Croatia) the lure, apart from the show itself, was an opportunity to buy two books written by Stuart. The Deliverance of Marlowe Billings is a warts and all snapshot of his early years (described as a false memoir) while Barcelona Blues is a collection of poems written while in the throes of a marital breakup which saw him decamp to Spain for a period of time. It’s clear Stuart has been in some dark places ( he’s recorded as saying his original intention when going to Mexico was to kill himself following a depressive episode, “my brain broke”) but tonight he seems in fine form, slightly combative on stage with a dismissive attitude towards much of his past works but engaging well with his foil and sparring partner for the evening, guitarist Antonio Gramentieri (from the Italian band, Sacri Couri) while at the end of the evening he was the perfect host patiently greeting the long queue that formed as he signed his CDs and books.

With Stuart singing and playing acoustic guitar and Gramentieri on electric it was a mesmerising show with deadpan humour, occasional menace and some soul baring. Ranging from the bruised tenderness of Why I Married You to the visceral shredding of Jimmy Boy the duo’s range was astounding with Gramentieri colouring in Stuart’s musical palette with bottleneck, reverb and barbed wire shards of noise on some of his solos. While there was a vulnerable air to Stuart as he revisited his darker times his wild and dangerous days of Green On Red were unveiled as he grimaced and roared on epic renditions of Jimmy Boy, That’s What Dreams Were Made For and Sixteen Ways while Clean White Sheets from the Marlowe Billings album had some blistering guitar from Gramentieri. There were several newer songs including Why I married You and the Hollywood Babylon like tale, The Day William Holden Died, which relates the solitary drunken death of Holden, star of The Wild Bunch with Stuart comparing his lifestyle to Holden’s. With the tour posters featuring Hemingway and Barcelona Blues not too far removed from Kerouac’s Book of Blues Stuart certainly relates to these doomed borrachos. His delivery of the Holden song was sublime and when, caught in the moment, he almost stumbled back over the stage riser behind him he quickly quipped “Bill just shoved me” as he recovered his balance.

Antonio Gramentieri was offered an opportunity mid set to play some of his and Sacri Cuori’s music reminding us of the superb soundscapes he can conjure up on six strings.Romantic with liquid notes flowing from his fingers it was all too short before Mr. Stuart came back to tell us a little about his book. Unfortunately there were no readings from the text but he did tantalise the audience talking about some misadventures in Edinburgh many moons ago involving spear guns in a hotel room (for more you’ll need to buy the book). Throughout the show there were humorous asides with the biggest laugh coming as he re tuned his guitar while telling us that Jim Dickinson, legendary Memphis producer thought that “tuning was a decadent practise of European homosexuals.”

Ending with a stomping Hair Of The Dog before an encore (and audience participation on) Little Things In Life we had almost two hours of Dan Stuart’s life given over to us and while it may be a bit melodramatic to say so there was a chance a few years ago that he thought he had no more time to offer. Here’s hoping that it’s not too long before we hear these new songs on a new disc. In the meantime the tour continues on the continent with another old Green On Red buddy, Chris Cacavas joining in some of the dates.

The opening act for the night was American songstress Kathleen Haskell. Ms. Haskell has a keen pedigree having sung with Neil Young while her latest album was produced by none other than Dan Stuart’s old sparring buddy, Chuck Prophet. Armed only with her guitar and a wicked way with some risqué rock’n’roll anecdotes she did a short set with the highlight being the title song of her album Where The Land Meets the Sky, a fine waltz time tune that recalled a chilled out Patsy Cline while the guitar coda was simple but captivating. Like A Pearl Necklace struggled to match the ribald introduction but I’ll Be Your Fool was a sensuous slink and, sitting at the piano for this one, Drama In The Dark proved to be a fine example of LA noir drama.

Dan Stuart/Marlowe Billings website

Kathleen Haskard website

Sacri Cuori website

And here’s some video of Dan and Antonia earlier in the tour.