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Mar. 16th, 2011 08:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
endlessraritiesAnd now, it's time for my concert review.
As you're no doubt well aware, I went to see Elbow at the SECC in Glasgow last night,
I knew from the start that this was not going to be a regular gig. Instead of the common-or-garden tinny music coming over the loudspeakers (which isn't too bad when it's Hendrix or the Stones or their ilk), a string quartet were sitting on the stage playing arrangements of Elbow songs. And very good they were, too.
The clientele were also markedly different from your average gig-goer. Around 50% were in their late teens, or early twenties - in other words, the kinds of people you'd expect to see at a gig by an Indie band. The other 50%... They were dominated by what I'd best describe as the 'Berghaus Set'.
Clad as I was in my usual combination of Craghoppers, Sprayway and Berghaus, I felt well at home...
Rubbing shoulders with such an audience had its distinct advantages... There was not a single volley of beer lobbed through the auditorium throughout the entire concert by any mutant low-life with more money than sense in the back row... Everyone was polite, with impeccable manners (though I can't understand why anyone pays £25+ for a ticket then spends much of the time texting friends on their mobile phone). On the minus side, they were a bit repressed and low-key. There was no bopping in the aisles for us, though we all joined in the sing-along sessions with real gusto, and gave the band a standing ovation at the end.
As for the band themselves... Well, what can I say? The opening track was one of my favourites, The Birds, and while I felt a bit distanced from the proceedings at this stage (all the action taking place close to the stage), this soon changed. Guy Garvie's patter is really good - he's chatty and amiable, and it soon feels like you're getting entertained by a friendly uncle (or cousin, if you're amongst the older members of the crowd like me) who just so happens to be lead singer of a rather talented troupe of musicians. They played 4 out of 5 of my all-time great Elbow songs, which isn't bad going.
Most of the songs in their set came from either The Seldom Seen Kid or Build a Rocket Boys! And yes, they did play The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver. And a tear did roll down my cheek, as I suddenly felt myself gripped by a desperate desire to be standing on a lonely fell top in Cumbria, surveying the world from a lofty perch....
I would have liked to have heard a bit more from the back catalogue, but what we were offered was a great collection of songs and it was a very entertaining evening. Elbow fans will certainly not be disappointed, and we certainly felt we got our money's worth. If you're a fan of Elbow's music, then you should check them out live as they're well worth watching!!!
As you're no doubt well aware, I went to see Elbow at the SECC in Glasgow last night,
I knew from the start that this was not going to be a regular gig. Instead of the common-or-garden tinny music coming over the loudspeakers (which isn't too bad when it's Hendrix or the Stones or their ilk), a string quartet were sitting on the stage playing arrangements of Elbow songs. And very good they were, too.
The clientele were also markedly different from your average gig-goer. Around 50% were in their late teens, or early twenties - in other words, the kinds of people you'd expect to see at a gig by an Indie band. The other 50%... They were dominated by what I'd best describe as the 'Berghaus Set'.
Clad as I was in my usual combination of Craghoppers, Sprayway and Berghaus, I felt well at home...
Rubbing shoulders with such an audience had its distinct advantages... There was not a single volley of beer lobbed through the auditorium throughout the entire concert by any mutant low-life with more money than sense in the back row... Everyone was polite, with impeccable manners (though I can't understand why anyone pays £25+ for a ticket then spends much of the time texting friends on their mobile phone). On the minus side, they were a bit repressed and low-key. There was no bopping in the aisles for us, though we all joined in the sing-along sessions with real gusto, and gave the band a standing ovation at the end.
As for the band themselves... Well, what can I say? The opening track was one of my favourites, The Birds, and while I felt a bit distanced from the proceedings at this stage (all the action taking place close to the stage), this soon changed. Guy Garvie's patter is really good - he's chatty and amiable, and it soon feels like you're getting entertained by a friendly uncle (or cousin, if you're amongst the older members of the crowd like me) who just so happens to be lead singer of a rather talented troupe of musicians. They played 4 out of 5 of my all-time great Elbow songs, which isn't bad going.
Most of the songs in their set came from either The Seldom Seen Kid or Build a Rocket Boys! And yes, they did play The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver. And a tear did roll down my cheek, as I suddenly felt myself gripped by a desperate desire to be standing on a lonely fell top in Cumbria, surveying the world from a lofty perch....
I would have liked to have heard a bit more from the back catalogue, but what we were offered was a great collection of songs and it was a very entertaining evening. Elbow fans will certainly not be disappointed, and we certainly felt we got our money's worth. If you're a fan of Elbow's music, then you should check them out live as they're well worth watching!!!
