Richard Hawley: Barrowland, Glasgow

-
"I don't want to go home. I don't want to leave the stage."

 Richard Hawley makes no secret of his love for the Barrowland - and the  fans who packed it for his third visit would have happily adopted him and fulfilled his request tom move to Scotland.

 Touring to promote his eighth album, the excellent Further, the Sheffield singer-songwriter delivered the most glorious ballads, and then cranked the reverb up to maximum and blistered a layer of paint from this remarkable old venue.

 From start to finish, this gig was a blast.

 Hawley remains the single most under-rated songwriter of the past few decades - Tonight The Streets Are Ours remains a wonderful anthem.

 His trademark ballads, lush and layered quite beautifully, are the soundtrack to many people's lives.

 He didn't disappoint, delivering an utterly  magnificent Coles Corner, and showcasing the strengths of his new album with the showstopping Emelina Says, and Not Lonely which pinpoints the difference between loneliness and solitude

 For a man whose balladry is unmatched by his peers, Hawley loves to rock out, as witnessed by a succession of guitar changes and an entire board of pedals to send every soaring across the Barrowland.

 And just when you thought he'd hit the summit, he brings out Clive Mellor whose harmonica solo on Time Is was staggering. How in God's name can an  instrument so small electrify a song in such a huge way? 

 It soared as the song built into one of the absolute highlights of a night packed with 'em. Utterly gobsmacking.

 The new material perfectly complemented the stage favourites - a tribute not only to his craft as a songwriter but also to a very tight band which clearly enjoyed every second on stage.









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bruce Springsteen, Sunderland: It's raining ...

-
Image
Where this gig rates on Springsteen’s tour is entirely subjective, but it will go down as one of the wettest, if not THE wettest ... A summer’s night in Sunderland saw the heavens open and the poncho sellers make a quick buck as they huddled in bus stops on the road leading to the rather mis-named Stadium Of Light which was shrouded in low cloud. It made Manchester 2016 feel like nothing more than a light shower, so all credit fo Springsteen and the E Street Band - and their tech team - for turning in a superb 28-song, near  three hour show in the most challenging of conditions. Any time you thought the rain had eased, you only had to look to the lights to see it swirling round the stage and the stadium. Instruments were soaked, and the close ups on the giant screens showed just how wet things really were up there. While the band donned jackets and scarves, Springsteen strolled out dressed as if it was just another day; waistcoat, tie and shirt, took one look at the rainfall and op...
Read more

Bruce Springsteen, Wembley (Part One): A perfect set, an utterly magical gig

-
Image
The list of superlatives to describe a Springsteen gig has been used up. We need to invent new words. If Cardiff was a mesmerising UK tour opener, then the first night in London, which marks his departure from these shores, surpassed it in every possible way. A flawless set delivered with such energy and intensity he didn’t actually pause to formally say hello to the crowd. The Boss had business to attend to - a jaw-dropping, highlight reel show of 31 songs over three and a quarter hours. It’s incredible to think this came on the cusp of the 50th anniversary of his first ever UK gigs - modest affairs at the Hammersmith Odeon which entered Springsteen folklore as he bristled against the hype surrounding the release of Born To Run, and famously tore down a poster from the front of the venue declaring “finally London is ready for Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band." London was more than ready for this first of two Wembley gigs. Standing on the pitch, I’d forgotten just how vast ...
Read more

From Asbury Park to Boucher Park ...

-
Image
  A near ten-hour flight separates Asbury Park, NJ, and Boucher Park, Belfast, but the difference between them is much, much wider. On one hand you have the mesmerising imagery of boardwalks, carnivals and the Stone Pony, on the other, a park that is basically grass and gravel, next to a generic industrial estate and retail park that could be Anywhere, UK. Belfast’s Boucher Park is as far removed from rock ‘n’ roll as you can imagine - only the moving canvas of Springsteen t-shirts gave away the fact something extraordinary was happening close to the tile warehouses and garden furniture outlets. The stop–start early queue which snaked to the gates led to a wristband which led to the front of the stage with tantalising snippets from the end of the soundcheck carrying over the fencing. I’ve never had the urge to do ‘the pit’ or rollcall - turns out you didn’t really need to do either in Belfast as the wristband got me to within half a dozen rows at the front.I suspect I could have go...
Read more