This gig was part of Celtic Connections and took place in Glasgow Life operated venue The Tramway, in Tramway 1.
The decision had been made by someone or some committee (CC, the venue, Glasgow Life) to leave the banks of seats in the venue, effectively making it all-seated with permission to stand by order of the venue staff. BM has it on first-hand authority that Hen Hoose were neither consulted or told about this in advance and it was out of their control – well so be it…
Support was Lacunas Music Society (not to be confused with Glasgow band Lanuna, or even Lacuna Coil), presumably handpicked by CC as a good opener – for this reviewer there were mixed results. Upon missing the very start of the performance BM was told in no uncertain terms that “downstairs is full” (it wasn’t but BM doesn’t really want a ban from all GL venues including the gyms and swimming pools so shut up and obeyed), “you have to go upstairs” – so up the stairs it was to the very back seating, a good distance from the stage.
The band did their thing, four very accomplished musicians including double bass, some guitar, keyboards and a bit of electronica. Several songs in ‘Homelands’ grated as being just a bit on the mawkish side, or maybe just too tasteful for this reviewer’s unrefined musical palette. ‘Travelling Light’ also sounded suspiciously like coffee table folk and around five minutes after that BM found herself actually falling asleep during a particularly earnest number and had to exit the performance as it would be really embarrassing to be told to stop snoring – maybe things perked up towards the end but it seemed unlikely.
So for the main performance BM, after being told to “sit in your seat” around 10 minutes before HH started, made sure there was a seat front row right. The atmosphere towards that point had been stultifying dull, BM had seen more exciting wakes, however despite the odds, the sheer unbridled joy of the Collective overcame the issues of the venue setup to a surprising extent.
When Hen Hoose started it was apparent there was a “core band” plus a rotating cast of singers at the front, with those not actually singing and between songs sitting on a large couch (or maybe two, BM’s sideview was blocked by the speakers) at the side, giving an additional vibe that the band members were watching their colleagues and kind of egging them on, very cool…
Starting with the new album’s opener ‘Wipeout’ the Collective played a total of 16 tracks, including all of the new album and a smattering of tracks from the previous EPs and debut long-player. The soundmix was great and voices blended and sang in harmony at least as well if not better than on the records.
It really was hard to highlight any one performance (everyone made great and vital contributions) but BM made a few notes and observations, put into bullet points in cases readers get bored (it can happen during these reviews/rambles/diatribes:
Drummer Lauren did a great job but was not on the new record so was additional to the “12”, as it were – combined with Susan Bear, who played most of the drums on the new release, on bass tonight this formed a solid backline
There are many talented guitar players in the Collective but Jill Lorean handled pretty much all of it tonight, including some Nirvana-esque thrash – joined by Frances McKee, who only appeared a couple of times but probably gave the most laughs with her drug-use confessions to the others before singing ‘Ego Death’.
Someone said “I won’t be able to look at Jill the same way again”, which pretty much summed up the vibe of ‘Game Of Two’ – phew! Also sounded like South Glasgow’s answer to Girls Aloud, and that’s a big compliment…
The older material came across well, interspersed between the new songs – BM would have to check what they played at the notoriously weird “Dandelion” “Brexit” festival at Kelvingrove Park a few years ago, mainly just remember the wind gusting around the stage and blowing over various bits of equipment which seemed hilarious at the time.
Emma Pollock did finally get her guitar out for encore ‘In Control’, while the two lead singers (Shears and Jill) stepped off the front of the stage for a sing-off/dance-off, almost goading the audience to join in – BM was not going to be the first to join them, at 6ft she would have been told to sit the fuck down by the staff, but if some of the youngsters had got going BM would have been up there as well, so the seating killed that as well…
The main overall “X” factor of this project is the results of the different collaborations, which can only really happen given some time to gestate. Project instigator Tamara did thank Creative Scotland, without which the new recordings simply would not have been possible, showing how vital even a wee bit of public funding can be judiciously used if given to the right people.
Anyway, despite the grumbles about the venue this was a highly enjoyable performance by the Collective, who really do have talent spilling out everywhere – BM would respectfully suggest that maybe they do it at a standing venue next time (Saint Lukes?) or better still outdoors (Kelburn?)…
Photos: Andrew McKenna
Latest posts by Betty Mayonnaise (see all)
Related