Kelly Crichton

Glastonbury, Day 1, 2015

Posted on July 3, 2015 by kellycrichton

Ready for it! Day 1 Glasto

Friday morning in Glastonbury is so perfect, energy levels are high, the main stages have opened and the crowd are really, really, ready for it. Catfish and the Bottlemen were first up on a long (and completely impossible to complete) list of gigs to experience over the weekend. No sooner had the band set foot on the Other stage but it started to rain, not drizzle, not shower, but pour, pour and pour. However, they advised us they were very happy to be there despite a bout of food poisoning (we knew they’d cancelled at least two gigs in the previous 7 days). For such a young band the set they perform would make you think they had been playing to Glasto for years. With a lot of bands it is pleasingly difficult for them to hide their sheer joy at being on stage in Glastonbury. This was the case with Catfish and the Bottlemen. Van McCan made a slightly rookie mistake by smashing his guitar (okay, pretty rock ‘n’ roll) but when its replacement hadn’t been tuned, it ended up stalling their performance for 10 minutes…slightly cringe-inducing.

Catfish & the Bottelmen getting a good soaking.

The weather didn’t dampen the spirits of the crowd. Jungle took to the stage thereafter accompanied by a young female break dancer who was potentially the coolest person at Glastonbury the whole weekend! Did not crack a smile once. Another good set, Jungle are a very smooth band, with a substantial number of members these days. Founding member Josh Lloyd Watson, was another artist with a perma-grim, the ‘I can’t believe I’m playing Glasto’ look which actually adds to the performance.

Jungle

Pussy Parlour provided a roof over our heads under which to dry off. Nova Heart were on stage, quiet an energetic anger-pop band, who grabbed our attention by the scruff of the neck. This is one of the joys of Glastonbury just stumbling across really good bands you’ve never heard of before. They should dedicate a day alone to unsigned or lesser known acts in some future Glastonbury that’s ten days long.

Nova Heart

Mark Ronson was the first act I saw of the weekend to inspire the ‘so what’ factor for me but happily not for the whole performance. There’s something not quite right about an artist when they are elevated way up off the stage in a little box with a set of decks or more likely a computer. I like a good DJ set but bounced between bands it feels like there’s something missing. Other acts across the weekend pulled it off more convincingly though such as Todd Terje.

We heralded many famous friends of Mark Ronson’s, Kevin Parker of Tame Impala, Daniel Merriweather and Kyle Falconer from the View, for a start. We were further entertained by BMX displays and jump-rope dancers, but the big guns didn’t come out until the end of the first full set Ronson has played in over three years. A heavily made up, dreadlocked, Boy George emerged to perform with Andrew White, a personal favourite of mine, ‘Somebody to Love Me’, from Ronson’s Record Collection album of 2010. A sublime moment followed when…wait for it…Boy George performed Culture Club’s ‘Do you really want to hurt me’. It was wonderfully surreal.

Mark Ronson feat Boy George & Andrew White

A very nice tribute to Amy Winehouse had the crowd wholeheartedly singing along with her original vocals on Valerie. To cap things off we experienced a live performance of the biggest record of the year, potentially decade, not with the original vocal from Bruno Mars but, a not too shabby replacement line-up of Mary J. Blige, George Clinton and Grandmaster Flash. That is how you drop friend references! It was a great crescendo to the performance, which I hadn’t expected at the start.

Mark Ronson feat. Grandmaster Flash, Mary J. Blige & George Clinton.

But day one wasn’t over there. It never really is until some strange time around Monday afternoon really I imagine. Hot Chip took to West Holts, which I think, is my favourite stage. It feels different to the other stages; it’s more enclosed and creates a more personal vibe to the performances there. Whilst I didn’t catch the whole set, what I did was impressive. This band has really grown since I saw them a few years ago and now command serious attention. Highlights of the set for me were the two final tracks. Dan Snaith of Caribou joined the band for an unforgettable, delightful, what seemed like never-ending, cover of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Dancing in the Dark’. The last track, LCD Soundsystem’s ‘All My Friends’, sent us off into the night, very content indeed.

Hot Chip

Fleetwood Mac as we’ve not seen them for a long, long time

Posted on June 17, 2015 by kellycrichton

Fleetwood Mac return to the SSE Hydro Glasgow on the first of three nights of the current On With The Show world tour

It’s been a fraught week or so for Fleetwood Mac and their fans. Their Birmingham gig cancelled last week due to illness. Who was ill? We do not know but that all seemed rather irrelevant as they took to the stage of the Glasgow SSE Hydro last night.

Our first glimpse of the new, old, Fleetwood Mac line-up with the recently re-emerged Christine McVie was to the infallible sound track of The Chain. From this first song the audience were given the immediate impression that this performance would be different to those in recent years. Lindsey Buckingham unleashed a roar to the crowd at the end of the first track that almost seemed laced with pain.

The spotlight shifted to Christine McVie during You Make Loving Fun and, for the first time in a long time, it’s abundantly clear Stevie Nicks isn’t the most important woman on the stage. But this is a good thing, Fleetwood Mac sound fuller, richer, more comfortable with the music and their line-up, less led by Nicks.

Nicks is adorned with her trade mark fingerless gloves and hippie-chic black regalia. She delivers Dreams with a slightly altered arrangement that means there aren’t as many high notes to hit. The individuality and texture of her vocal makes this transition seamless nonetheless.

Buckingham entertains with his determination to rock out, dance, enjoy the ecstatic crowd who have managed to line up below the band, and generally consume the stage. When Christine McVie steps out from behind her keyboard, maracas in hand, she and the tambourine-bearing Stevie dance or jostle; I’m not sure which, to the much-celebrated Everywhere.

As has been the case in past Fleetwood Mac performances there is a certain amount of time allocated to on-stage nostalgia. Having Christine McVie present provides the perfect opportunity for this and in Buckingham’s welcoming of her he also heralds a “…profound, beautiful and prolific chapter for this band Fleetwood Mac..” and when they both join John McVie for what could be a private jamming session to the right of the stage, it looks like they’ve never been apart and this could be the start of something new.

Buckingham’s ever-solo performance of Big Love is a show-stealer; he appears to play this even more nimble-fingered then their last visit to Glasgow. He says the song was written about his “…increasing contemplation of alienation…” but now he sees it as a “…mediation on change…”.

At the end of Landslide, Nicks’ longing looks at Buckingham linger a couple of seconds longer than necessary for that dramatic effect which they have so comfortably honed. But Nick’s role in this gig has been less prowling temptress and more member of the band. Buckingham’s performance of Never Going Back Again feels just like that, his performance and she’s intruding on it.

The rest of the show is cluttered with hits along with sometimes pleasant, sometimes overly-distracting visuals, projected onto a large backdrop. During Gold Dust Woman though, Nicks retrieves her stage and her position. She prowls and writhes across the stage seductively and lifts her arms aloft, the outline of her gold shawl, accentuated by the lighting creating the wings for this angel of the stage.

Mick Fleetwood’s trade mark drum solo comes amidst World Turning, a wild, animalistic outbreak which sees the crowd whipped up to a frenzy which, it’s easy to see, is joy-inducing for the drummer. Calling back to the crowd prepares us for the inevitable approach of the end of the show but not before praise and admiration is heaped on his band members by the only original member on stage. Fleetwood points out Buckingham has not left the stage but for 30 seconds, he calls him the “musical mentor” of the band. Nicks is the “eternal romantic” and Christine McVie is their “songbird” who makes the band “oh so complete”. But the largest complement is saved for John McVie, he is “the backbone of the band”.

Mac leaves us with his trademark sign off and reminder “The Mac is back”; thankfully this is truer than ever when it comes to their live performance. Now we need to see whether the album, which is supposedly in the pipelines, materialises and showcases a new recording strength in this rock ‘n’ roll behemoth.

Set list

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Day #1 ECFM

Image | Posted on February 20, 2013 by kellycrichton

Day #1 ECFM

Taken during my first solo show on East Coast Fm covering the Eclectic mix – loved it.