Music
The Waterboys
Kelvingrove Bandstand, Glasgow
Stuart Morrison
four stars
A BEAUTIFUL summer evening gave us clear blue skies over Kelvingrove Bandstand as Mike Scott, looking particularly dapper in a purple suit, strolled on to the stage with his Waterboys. The twelve bar boogie of Still a Freak, from last year’s Modern Blues Album, kicked off proceedings with considerable gusto, Scott and guitarist Zach Ernst trading licks like a couple of old blues men. Both this and the, somewhat older, Medicine Bow, were given extended workouts, before he took us right back to the beginning with A Girl Called Johnny, from their eponymous debut album. So far, so all right, but then Steve Wickham’s staccato fiddle intro to We Will Not be Lovers, produced the first magical moment of the evening. In fact, Wickham was superb here and his contribution was perfectly showcased in his duet with Scott on Don’t Bang the Drum.
The most striking aspect of the show was just how much blues rock had been woven into the celtic mix. Brother Paul Brown’s manic Hammond organ playing gave everything a blues feel and Long Strange Golden road could have been a Tom Petty tune. The Raggle Taggle Gypsy was given an outing, as was a perfunctory and largely unnecessary cover of Roll Over Beethoven. The crowd loved it all, of course, having invaded the front of stage area almost from the start. Mike Scott, too, seemed to be having a ball, duck walking across the stage and generally giving every impression of thoroughly enjoying himself. They crossed the finish line at full throttle, with the inspired pairing of The Whole of the Whole of the Moon and Fisherman’s Blues, sending everyone home with smiles on their faces.
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