Get sweaty with me! (Del Amitri - Tour 2002)

Member Name: calypte

Product:	Del Amitri - Tour 2002
Date:	21/06/02 (330 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: I love the music, Amazing live band - oodles of enery, Great atmosphere of enjoyment from both band and crowd

Disadvantages: I forgot to take my camera!

The lights go dark. All you can hear is the whistling, the cheering and the beating of your own heart. Then, an upswelling of triumphant, orchestral music builds and a solitary man leaps onto the stage in front of you, mounts his monitor and pretends to conduct the roaring audience.

Welcome to the (in)famous Glasgow Barrowlands Ballroom. And welcome home to Del Amitri.

It’s been a long four plus years since Glasgow’s finest (hey – my review, my opinion :p) last toured – and about four years since I became a fan. Easy maths, then, to see that this was my first opportunity to see what other fans had told me was a fantastic live band.

I realise that not many people actually have a clue who Del Amitri are, but if you’re interested, I have written an opinion on the band in general – hint, hint! ;)



•¤•THE OCCASION•¤•

After several years in the writing, and another year at the mercy of a foot-dragging record company, 2002 sees the release of Del Amitri’s sixth album (not including greatest hits and b-sides collections): Can You Do Me Good?



•¤•THE TOUR•¤•

In a rather last minute, panicky way (*smack* naughty record company!) a small-ish UK tour was (eventually) arranged: The fourteen dates are soon extended as shows sell out, which gives me the opportunity to book two nights in Glasgow (the only Scottish shows – shame!).



•¤•THE VENUE•¤•

THE GLASGOW BARROWLAND BALLROOM is situated in the, um, less than glamorous east end of Glasgow, and has a reputation for being two things: a fantastic live venue and an absolute dive. I won’t argue with either! Built in the 1950s, it’s far from being a shiny, new, but thoroughly sterile space. After some fairly strict security (metal detectors, bag searches and random frisking!), it was up two flights
of stairs (past the cloakrooms, merchandise stalls and rather nasty smelling hotdog vendors) for my first glimpse of the stage – you enter at the ‘side’ of the room, so to speak, rather than from the rear (missus!)

The first thing that hit me was the heat – after a fairly brisk trek from the pub, I think I started sweating the instant I reached the main crowd. The Barrowlands only holds about 2-2½ thousand, so it manages to feel fairly intimate. It’s a much better environment than the larger venues (or large blue tent, on one occasion!) as far as I’m concerned. As my ‘tour guide’ had said, it’s impossible to get a bad view there (mind you, he was 6ft 2, so I didn’t think he was qualified to know much about bad views!).

Oh yes, there’s a bar – can’t forget to mention that now, can I? Of course, it’s on the other side of the ‘room’ so you will have to push through the crowd: thankfully, it’s not a cram-them-in-like-sardines kind of place, so there is enough space to move a bit.



•¤•MONDAY, MAY 20TH•¤•

I’m being rather backwards with this, but the second gig I saw proved to be a bit more memorable, and I want to focus on that.

After the first Glasgow date sold out rather quickly, a second date was announced. As the last show of the tour, people were expecting something special – and poured in from all over for it! This time, I’d arranged to meet up with people well before the doors opened, so an hour beforehand saw me standing in the cold meeting a whole bunch of fans from the States (you can’t say Del fans aren’t keen!) and other places.

Being so early this time meant I was in line to get a good spot – and it couldn’t have been much better! I ended up right at the front, leaning against the barrier, standing right in front of guitarist Kris
Dollimore (with his ‘odd’ mother-of-pearl guitar!). Now it was just the long wait…

First up, of course, was the support act. Everyone had been so underwhelmed by Cousteau – the support for the rest of the tour – that it was something of a relief to hear that a local band had been booked for this date: The Grim Northern Social. I don’t think anyone knew much about them, but I was really impressed. Again, apologies for the clichéd phrase, but certainly one to look out for! I’m not sure I can describe their music – rock, I suppose, loud and heavy on the guitars, with a little synth thrown in, although also quite clever with the lyrics. The singer in particular had a great rapport going with the crowd, and thanked everyone for the opportunity and the reception.

After the support left, it seemed an eternity of roadies checking everything six times over – mind you, after the previous technical hitches (see later!), maybe it was better safe than sorry.

Finally, the lights go out… which is where I started, isn’t it? :)


This was the last gig of the tour, so by this point you could imagine that the band were quite tired. However, there was absolutely no sign of fatigue of any kind – right from the get go there was a real sense of enthusiasm coming from the band, starting with Justin bounding onto the stage. It’s hard not to focus on the singer, and I’m glad to report that he sounded great, voice in fine form. One of the TV shows they’d done previously to promote the new album (actually, I think it was Jools Holland) had seen him struggle a bit with the odd high note, but he was spot on when I saw them.


The set list didn’t vary much over the tour – it was a mix of the classics, the new album and only a few less obvious choices each time. I always kicked off with the energetic Always the Last to Know (which seems a little
faster and more upbeat in the live version) – sounding absolutely great, and certainly not something you’d realise was 10 years old! From the outset, people were singing along, and doing that can’t-move-too-much dancing.

The other ‘classics’ were met much the same way – mass hysteria! There were the slower ‘heartstring wrenchings’ of Be My Downfall and Driving With The Brakes On – or, ‘driving with your wellies on’, as someone in the crowd called for. This was met with a slightly bemused, “Um, okay then, but we were going to do something else!” I was almost disappointed not to here the ‘wellies’ thrown in at least once during the song!

Other ‘proper’ requests were unfortunately dealt with the same way. At one point someone called for Spit in the Rain. Justin took a swig of his Guinness (it was quite near the end of the show by this point!) and pretended to spit – “Oh, I thought you said ‘spit at Lorraine’!” Funny, but the excuse afterwards was that it requires a certain tuning and we’d left it too late to ask – as if a guitar can’t be retuned!

The other ‘Greatest Hits’ classics that weren’t ignored included the darker Just Like A Man and Stone Cold Sober – both went down very well, having a nice ‘atmosphere’ to play live – to the sheer joyousness of Not Where It’s At, Here and Now, and the penultimate number, Kiss This Thing Goodbye – performed with such vigour and enthusiasm you’d forget that the band have probably been playing it every gig for sooo long!!

The new songs fitted perfectly, too. One highlight for me was Drunk In A Band – it’s a real uplifting, toe-tapping crowd pleaser. From the instant it started, I was pogoing away, joined by my new friends on either side – in fact, they wouldn’t let
me stop until the song ended! Unlike the album version, this song is performed live with Justin, Iain and Kris singing a verse each, which was nice to see, along with Justin being able to jump about instead of singing! This sense of enjoyment – that the band was enjoying playing, that is – was a key feature of the gig being a good one, and never more apparent than at this point, I think.

Other ‘newbies’ included Buttons On My Clothes – another favourite, it’s just such a great song; the slower (almost too slow for a live gig) She’s Passing This Way, which saw Kris get huge applause for playing one of those blow-in-the keyboard gizmos (excuse my lack of technical know-how!); Cash and Prizes and, of course, the last single, Just Before You Leave. Although not hugely successful, I do like this song – it’s got a really strong bass beat that just makes me want to move, and a cool, ‘Shaft’-like guitar bit that Iain was obviously enjoying playing!

There were a few surprises in this show, too: possibly Del Amitri’s most recognised song, Nothing Ever Happens, got a rare airing (they stopped playing it after getting SO sick of it!) – just because they’d played it in London, and London shouldn’t get advantages, we were told! It got a great response, but personally I think it’s a terrible song for live events, as it’s really downbeat. However, it was good to see Andy get the accordion out again and even better to hear Justin ask, “Can we throw that f***ing thing in the river?” after a major technical hitch meant the sound wasn’t coming through the speakers. I’m not convinced that NEH will be making many reappearances in the future – that sense of enjoyment from the guys just wasn’t there as far as I’m concerned.

Perhaps the best ‘spectacle’ song of the whole evening was Being Somebody Else from the
Twisted album. This is a dark, all out ‘rawk’ number and was played exactly as that: Justin was right in front of me, and I’m surprised the strings didn’t break he was hitting them so hard! Even Andy got out from his little bank of keyboards and picked up a guitar – although, to be honest, I don’t think he should have bothered (sorry!)

Talking of being energetic, this is not a band that stays stationary. Justin in particular barely stands still enough to sing into the microphone – when he’s not, he runs across the length of the stage, turns about, poses on the edge of the monitors, and at one point even started a sort of cancan while still playing his bass. Hey – this is quite impressive from a man of 37!

Oh, and I can’t not mention the sweating. Sorry! From the moment they stepped on stage, the band started sweating – unsurprisingly. But the *amount* of sweating! I think Justin Currie must be the sweatiest human being on the planet – two songs in and his hair was soaked; off came the jacket. After that, he was literally *dripping*. No, really – I could see drops of moisture flying off with every movement. This should sound absolutely disgusting, but really, it was kind of mesmerising. It gave a real feeling of ‘I’m playing my guts out here’ – which I really think they were, regardless of the sweat. I’m amazed the man didn’t electrocute himself – or that there was anything left at the end of the evening!

Ah, yes, the end of the evening. We all knew that the final song was Just Getting By, and it played, and a few people made a mad dash for the exit. Big mistake, as there was a great bit to come! Amid the cheering and whooping and stomping – and in the pitch black – the band came back on stage for a surprise encore: a cover of the Sex Pistols’ God Save the Queen. In the dark. It was fantastic – Kri
s was singing (impressive voice, really), and Mr Sweaty Currie had taken his shirt off (which was maybe why the lights were off!). It was rather surreal watching them all play with just a little torchlight from the roadies!

I think the best bit about this was a feeling of ‘impromptu-ness’ that was the only thing otherwise lacking from the gig. Other than that, it really was fantastic – the sheer sense of joy at seeing a band that love playing, and playing in their hometown to an adoring crowd. As Iain went on to write in the band diary:

“The show tonight was what it is all about. The best audience in the world in the best venue in the world made us feel for an hour and a half that we were the best band in the world. Thanks.”



•¤•THURSDAY, MAY 9TH•¤•

Yes, I know I’m working backwards! As I’ve said, the set list didn’t change radically over the tour, as the band wanted (I assume) to air the new material and play the old favourites.

For this one, I didn’t manage to get quite such a great view – a few of us had arranged to meet up beforehand and the ‘bevvie’ was just a little distracting! As it turned out, we timed everything really well, missing the support act (Cousteu) we weren’t desperately keen on seeing and arriving about 10 minutes before the Dels came on stage.


Right from the start, it was obvious that there were technical hitches abound that night. In fact, the whole tour had more than it’s fair share of glitches – the band’s tour diary (on the official website – see end) talks of the shovel kept just off stage for splatting all the pesky gremlins! Nothing major, and a few rather amusing – for instance, after they’d finished second song, When I Want You, a good humoured Justin turned to his microphone and announced that “my f***ing knob’s fallen o
ff!” (his guitar, obviously!). Two songs in, though, he reckoned that was a good sign (and no sarcasm), and besides “It’s only the middle one.” :)

The rest of the glitches were more in the sound department. Kris seemed to have the most bother, frequently looking a little put out, especially at the start. Hardly a song went by without Justin making frantic and rather annoyed gestures to ‘them offstage’ for either higher or lower levels.

The biggest glitch coincided with the least well-received track: Jesus Saves from the new album. Now, giving the title and the fact that it was written by a self-confessed atheist, I’m sure you can guess a little at the tone! Personally, I don’t mind that in the slightest, but it is a very heavy, strident song, full-on in the noise department – and exactly the wrong song to be having major feedback problems, as the whine that hit my ears really hurt! To be honest, I think it was far more that than the song itself that caused the slightly down response – but interestingly, the song had been replaced by Being Somebody Else for the second show I saw.

Despite all the little problems, the energy and enthusiasm from both the band and the audience was more than obvious, although a little dampened compared with the May 20th gig – that one was just like a huge party! I’ve been hearing for so long now about how great Del Amitri are live, and I so completely agree. Forget age (Iain celebrated his 40th birthday mid-tour), forget the lack of ‘coolness’ in the general music scene, for the hour and a half that the boys were on stage, they were far and away the best band on the planet. Honest :)



•¤•NOTES•¤•

•Official website, including a tour section (under the ‘Interact’ link) with photos and the band diary:
www.delamitri.co.uk

•Also worth a look is The
Grim Northern Social (support act) page:
www.thegrimnorthernsocial.com


Finally, apologies for going on for so long, but you can always blame a-true-ben for ‘bullying’ me into writing this – cheeky sod requested the category be set up for me to write in!! (thanks, Ben!) :)

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