Live in 2023

 

I managed to attend 15 concerts this year which was an increase on the 9 I managed in 2022.

I've reviewed some but not all here so very briefly here goes:

The 7 out of 10s

19th January - Royal Concert Hall  Celtic Connections 30th Anniversary Concert.

Like the curate's egg good in parts although it jumped about various genres with more of a focus on classical and traditional music.

27th January - Theatre Royal - Songwriter's Circle

See review here

Karine Polwart was as good as ever and I enjoyed Mary Chapin Carpenter. I could take or leave Robert Vincent. It was pretty good but should have been better than it was. I suspect that this was due to a lack of rehearsal with the three of them not having time to properly gel

30/03/23 - Old Fruitmarket - Ward Thomas

Mrs CC is a much bigger fan of the English country singing sisters than me although I would say that they are good at what they do but it doesn't do much for me. Mrs CC would have probably given them an 8!

28/07/23 Glad Cafe - Brenda

The album launch of the indie punky female trio Brenda who are signed to Last Night From Glasgow. Support from Rachael Aggs. It was a bit shambolic but in a good way. I'm not sure they had played all the songs before. The  eponymous album is good though and grows on me after each listen

04/08/23 Old Hairdressers - Dropkick/ The Cheese/Vapour Trail

I attended this one primarily to see Dropkick. It was just Andrew and Alan who were first on with a brief acoustic set. The other acts did nothing for me. Still I got the chance to chat with Andrew and pick up a couple of albums.

25/11/23 Birnam Arts Centre - Heidi Talbot and Boo Hewerdine.

An eagerly  awaited sneaky overnight in Dunkeld for this one  The Birnam Arts Centre is a lovely wee venue. This was the third time we have seen Heidi who seems to be moving away from her more traditional stuff  to more of a singer/songwriter. I much prefer the former It was the first time that I had seen Boo and I was quite taken with his songs and his laconic humour.

 

The 8 out of 10s

03/02/23 Oran Mor - The Bluebells

A more detailed review here . The launch of their first album in umpteen years The Bluebells in the 21st Century which gets better with each listen. The new songs were well received with the older one having the audience dancing in the aisles.

22/09/23 - Mono - Teenage Fanclub

An in-store album launch for their latest album Nothing Lasts For Ever. Mono's was rammed but I had an excellent view. They rattled through 8 songs from the album before finishing with Everything Flows. Only the brevity of the show stopped it being a 9.

11/11/23 - Glad Cafe - Dropkick

Review here . The whole band on show this time with a blistering set with a couple of excellent support acts. Plenty of songs from their latest album The Wireless Revolution alongside a good few from their extensive back catalogue.

19/12/23 Royal Concert Hall - Phil Cunningham's Christmas Show.

Every year Mrs CC and I take her mum to the Concert hall to see this. Phil  (on accordion and pater)is joined by John McCusker(fiddle), Kris Drever (guitar and vocals), Ian Kerr (guitar), Kevin Maguire (double bass) and Karen Mathieson and Eddie Reader on vocals. A mix of traditional music and Christmas songs it is great fun. Eddi Reader's Ave Maria was pretty special.

The 9 out of 10's

23/01/23 - Royal Concert Hall - Lucinda Williams

Review here. 70 years old and recovering from a stroke Lucinda Williams took to the stage in the Concert Hall and totally bossed it. I've seen here a few times and this was the best yet. Rarely have I seen an artist enjoying themselves this much. She is a total force of nature throwing everything at the rockier numbers off  her latest album Stories From a Rock'n'Roll Heart

25/01/23 - Barrowlands - The Delgados

Review here

Two absolute top drawer concerts in three days in January set a very high bar which no one else was quite able to better. Their first concert in years in their hometown and the Barrowlands was totally jumping. I had the pleasure of bumping into JC and my review gives a link to his excellent review. There wasn't much chatter from the band as they got their heads down and rattled out an impressive number of great songs from their back catalogue. Terrific stuff

01/03/23 - Mono - Robyn Hitchcock

Review here

His last gig as a sexagenarian. What is it with older artists like him and Lucinda? They are like fine wines which get better over the years, The first time I have seen him and he was totally brilliant and totally bonkers in equal measures. 

11/03/12 - The Hug and Pint - The Dream Syndicate

Review here

A mere 10 days after Robyn Hitchcock and another great gig. The Dream Syndicate put on a blistering set and were ably supported by Rain Parade. I'd seen Steve Wynn two or three times before but I had never seen the band before. It was well worth the wait. The Hug and Pint is hot and very small but I stayed rooted to the spot for the entire show which was an absolute treat.

05/11/23 - The Tramway - Teenage Fanclub

Review here

There were certainly fireworks at the Tramway on Bonfire Night when Teenage Fanclub took the stage.My second time seeing them in two months but this was a much longer and fuller show than the in-store at Mono. As it was a seated venue I was joined by Mrs CC who thoroughly enjoyed it.

Gig of the Year?

All 5 of the 9 out of 10s were very much in contention. However, if you were to put a gun to my head I would say that Lucinda just about shaded it over the Delgados.

One from each of the top 5 I feel since it's nearly Christmas.

Lucinda Williams - Stolen Moments

The Delgados -Accused of Stealing

Robyn Hitchcock - Belltown Ramble

The Dream Syndicate - The Days of Wine and Roses

Teenage Fanclub - Everything Flows