"THEY are an excellent band. Far more to them than the usual hits! You'd better give them ten out of ten!" read the text from my Scottish chum (and Craig and Charlie devotee) who had to decline the last minute invitation to hare down to Liverpool for last night's impromptu review.
This was when I had to start thinking. I only knew The Proclaimers' hits, having stomped well over 500 Miles on student disco dancefloors and warbled along to Letter From America after too much Irn-Bru. Would I be able to sit through everything else without getting fidgetty?
And that's the thing. At a time when 27-minute long remixes of so-so songs storm the download charts, all The Proclaimers need to do is perform brilliantly effective songs, and perform them well.
The Philharmonic Hall was heaving when the brothers emerged, delayed slightly by a dodgy mic, dressed for the pub, and clearly pleased to be back in front of a Liverpool crowd, which had a few Scottish and Hampden Park flags dotted about it.
What followed was some of the best anthemic pop I'd heard in years. Even when the lads are on simmer, the beautiful Sean being an example, you still find yourself tapping your foot.
It's a rare gift to be able to write songs which are likeable from the first listen. Mixing irresistible melodies with the odd political message (time was when the brothers would promote the SNP at gigs south of the border), suggests similarities with The Smiths and, to a lesser extent, The Beautiful South, but it's much more than that. This is honest sing-a-long stuff, and they even stopped after the first three songs to read out dedications (couldn't quite see Morrissey doing that).
Sunshine on Leith, played before every Hibs home game, is clearly a fan favourite and got the cheer (and a near-reverential one at that) of the evening, but the stand-out performances were, perhaps inevitably, the made-for-driving anthem I'm On My Way and the breakthrough Letter From America.
Thanks to a certain wheelchair bound fictional club owner's influence on the nation's psyche, there wasn't a person in the place who didn't know I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) nor remained in their seat while the lads' incredibly powerful lungs bounced the song off every corner of the Phil.
Without a doubt one of the best gigs I've been to in a long time, I am no longer a Craig and Charlie novice, and if their greatest hits doesn't turn up in my Christmas stocking, I'll have a face as long as Auchtermuchty come December 25.
And I don't normally give scores either, but my pal speaks wise words (sometimes). Ten out of ten.
- Post to:
del.icio.us
Digg
Newsvine
Nowpublic
Reddit
« Previous | Home | Next »