Two years on from the originally scheduled dates, from far and wide, the faithful have assembled in their droves for the first of two sold out shows at the famous old ballroom in Glasgow’s Gallowgate.
The last time the full band played together was at their triumphant Usher Hall show in November 2019. The intervening 2 years have been challenging for all and unfortunately the pandemic is still having its say on tonight’s proceedings. A band statement on Thursday announced that for personal reasons, guitarist Andy MacFarlane wouldn’t be performing over the weekend, whilst US based drummer Sebastien Schultz was victim of the ongoing travel restrictions. Every cloud and all that…, Mogwai’s Alex Mackay would be filling in for Andy, while Frightened Rabbit’s Grant Hutchison would take over drumming duties. If Carlsberg did stand-ins….!
So what’s been happening in the world of the Twilight Sad since our last encounter? James has become a dad again and relocated to the wide open spaces of the Mearns and aside from a few stripped back acoustic shows, not a lot! A point not lost on James Graham who admitted to having spent a large amount of time in front of the mirror telling himself he’s a c*nt over the last 2 years – a lone voice from the front row promptly reiterates this for everyone’s benefit!
So to the gig itself. The sound system for tonight is billed as ‘Quadraphonic’. All the additional speakers probably makes for a fuller sound further down the hall. As a venue, the acoustics of Barrowlands has always been pretty good so I’m none the wiser! It was loud, ’nuff said!
The set kicks off with the sequenced intro to [Ten Good Reasons for Modern Drugs] which erupts into a blizzard of strobes with James Graham, unleashed, resplendent in his black dungarees bounding about stage like Mr Tumble’s twin from an alternate reality. There’s clearly a lot of pent up energy in there!
From there on in, the set pulls heavily from ‘It Won/t Be Like This All the Time’. Older tracks such as Cold Days from the Birdhouse, Wrong Car and Seven Years of Letters give Alex a chance to add his own feedback soaked flourishes. Frightened Rabbit’s Keep Yourself Warm has extra poignancy given who’s sitting behind the drum kit. The final refrain sees Grant stand up and reach out towards the hall to acknowledge the wave of empathy emanating from what is now a 2000 strong blubbering mass of emotion. James is left standing looking towards the drum riser, lost in his own thoughts. It gets you every time.
Finishing with And She Would Darken the Memory James is left alone on stage shaking his head in disbelief. Maybe, just maybe, it may finally be dawning on him that they have finally arrived in the big league.
Words and Pictures: Calum Mackintosh @ayecandyphotography