CAST – The Garage, Glasgow 11 December 2014
“So what's it all about, do you really want to know”? That being the case read on! First things first, promoter My First Music did an outstanding job in creating a bill that included upcoming Glasgow band Tijuana Bibles as well as John McCullagh and The Escorts (who are supporting CAST throughout their current tour). Needless to say this was a night I had been looking forward to for some time and it did not disappoint.
Arriving around 19:00 hours at the venue I was surprised to hear a band on stage. Pleasingly it was not the Tijuana Bibles as the Glasgow band have been high on my list of ‘must see’ artists for some time and after missing them at Dunfermline Live a few months back I would have been absolutely gutted to have missed out again. Thankfully this was not to be the case, and Tijuana Bibles would take to the stage a short time after my arrival. By the time Tijuana Bibles took to the stage and blasted into opener ‘Crucifixtion’ a healthy crowd had gathered and with a number of fans singing along from the off it suggested the band have a growing number of fans in attendance tonight.
Having featured Tijuana Bibles in ‘Gigslutz Unsigned City: Glasgow’ a couple of months back, I was keen to hear how the band and their tracks would sound live. Instantly I was impressed and having listened to both the opener and the second track ‘Toledo’ a number of times it was great eventually hear them live. Singer Tony led the charge and I loved the gritty edgy rocky sound of Tijuana Bibles and it was not surprising to hear they had been lined up to support The View in Dundee the following night. ‘Sun Chaser’ and closer ‘Wild River’ were standouts and I look forward to catching Tijuana Bibles live again in the near future.
“So what's it all about, do you really want to know”? That being the case read on! First things first, promoter My First Music did an outstanding job in creating a bill that included upcoming Glasgow band Tijuana Bibles as well as John McCullagh and The Escorts (who are supporting CAST throughout their current tour). Needless to say this was a night I had been looking forward to for some time and it did not disappoint.
Arriving around 19:00 hours at the venue I was surprised to hear a band on stage. Pleasingly it was not the Tijuana Bibles as the Glasgow band have been high on my list of ‘must see’ artists for some time and after missing them at Dunfermline Live a few months back I would have been absolutely gutted to have missed out again. Thankfully this was not to be the case, and Tijuana Bibles would take to the stage a short time after my arrival. By the time Tijuana Bibles took to the stage and blasted into opener ‘Crucifixtion’ a healthy crowd had gathered and with a number of fans singing along from the off it suggested the band have a growing number of fans in attendance tonight.
Having featured Tijuana Bibles in ‘Gigslutz Unsigned City: Glasgow’ a couple of months back, I was keen to hear how the band and their tracks would sound live. Instantly I was impressed and having listened to both the opener and the second track ‘Toledo’ a number of times it was great eventually hear them live. Singer Tony led the charge and I loved the gritty edgy rocky sound of Tijuana Bibles and it was not surprising to hear they had been lined up to support The View in Dundee the following night. ‘Sun Chaser’ and closer ‘Wild River’ were standouts and I look forward to catching Tijuana Bibles live again in the near future.
Another mega bonus for me in the line-up was hearing John McCullagh and his band The Escorts were going to be supporting CAST. With John being signed to Alan McGee’s 359 records (the same record label as my most played artist of 2014, Gigslutz nominated Male Artist Of The Year Pete MacLeod) he was someone I had both read about and listened to over the past year and was excited about hearing live for the first time.
Signed at the age of 15, John is building quite a reputation for himself having supported acts such The Enemy and Alabama 3. Now seventeen, John will follow-up his debut album North South Divide with the release of is second album Newborn Cry in early 2015. Hailing from Liverpool and being compared to artists such as Dylan and Donovan it was only a matter of time before John came into contact with CAST and with John Power collaborating on some of McCullagh’s new songs as well as producing them it is great to see John and The Escorts getting the opportunity of some exposure through their nation-wide support slot. John opened with ‘She’s Calling Me’ and followed this up with ‘Short Sharp Shock’ from his debut album. Backed by The Escorts the track had an added depth to it and for me was a one of the stand-outs. Indeed, backed by the Escorts and listening to John live my own comparison was immediately to that of Jake Bugg. The set-list itself appeared to contain mainly new songs (or songs not featured on North South Divide) and as the set progressed John and The Escorts got right into it with ‘Division Street’ being another high-point. Back in September I heard lead track ‘Box Of Tricks’ from the forthcoming album and absolutely loved it from the moment of the opening harmonica and hearing it live sounded even better. Closer ’55 Blues’ also sounded great and judging by the applause I am sure when John left the stage I was not the only one keen to hear more. With the release of Newborn Cry and an accompanying tour early next year I am sure the number of fans John McCullagh has will only increase and I look forward to catching him again live.
Signed at the age of 15, John is building quite a reputation for himself having supported acts such The Enemy and Alabama 3. Now seventeen, John will follow-up his debut album North South Divide with the release of is second album Newborn Cry in early 2015. Hailing from Liverpool and being compared to artists such as Dylan and Donovan it was only a matter of time before John came into contact with CAST and with John Power collaborating on some of McCullagh’s new songs as well as producing them it is great to see John and The Escorts getting the opportunity of some exposure through their nation-wide support slot. John opened with ‘She’s Calling Me’ and followed this up with ‘Short Sharp Shock’ from his debut album. Backed by The Escorts the track had an added depth to it and for me was a one of the stand-outs. Indeed, backed by the Escorts and listening to John live my own comparison was immediately to that of Jake Bugg. The set-list itself appeared to contain mainly new songs (or songs not featured on North South Divide) and as the set progressed John and The Escorts got right into it with ‘Division Street’ being another high-point. Back in September I heard lead track ‘Box Of Tricks’ from the forthcoming album and absolutely loved it from the moment of the opening harmonica and hearing it live sounded even better. Closer ’55 Blues’ also sounded great and judging by the applause I am sure when John left the stage I was not the only one keen to hear more. With the release of Newborn Cry and an accompanying tour early next year I am sure the number of fans John McCullagh has will only increase and I look forward to catching him again live.
So onto the main even CAST! What can I say? Wow! On this bitter winter night the temperature was soaring by the time CAST opened their set with ‘Time Bomb’ and followed this up with ‘Promised Land’. Having caught front-man John Power (accompanied by Jay Lewis) on their acoustic tour last year the songs took on another dimension with the addition of Skin on guitar and Paul Weller’s drummer Steve Pilgrim. ‘Sandstorm’ and ‘Fine Time’ ensured the set continued at break-neck speed with the crowd well and truly up for it and singing along word for word. Hearing ‘Fine Time’ live re-jogged my own memory back to the time when I bought All Change. Back in 1995, as a student with a weekly income of less than £30 and albums costing £10-£12 any purchase needed to be great one. All Change certainly made the grade and despite being 4 hours worth of wages was money well-spent as it remained a near constant on my 5 disc CD player at the time for the remainder of the year. Aah, those were the days when albums were really listened to (agreed, not quite to the same extent as vinyl but still listened to without the click of mouse or the tap of a button to skip to the big tracks).
Anyways back to the gig, ‘Beat Mama’, ‘I’m So Lonely’ and ‘Magic Hour’ were big stand-outs for me and I was loved the dynamic between Power and Skin on stage. ‘Live The Dream’, perhaps my fav CAST track, once again blew my mind whilst follower ‘Walkaway’ was the choice track of the night for my mate, Photographer Andy Laing! ‘Guiding Star’ took the night up a notch with John Power appearing to love every moment with the Glasgow crowd responding in volume to each track. ‘Free Me’ closed the night out and once again I was left wanting more. With a new album due next year and new(ish) track ‘Baby Blue Eyes’ currently streaming I am hoping CAST or another John Power/Skin super-group such as that of tonight will return to Scotland again next year.
Words: Bazza Mills
Twitter: @bazzamills
Anyways back to the gig, ‘Beat Mama’, ‘I’m So Lonely’ and ‘Magic Hour’ were big stand-outs for me and I was loved the dynamic between Power and Skin on stage. ‘Live The Dream’, perhaps my fav CAST track, once again blew my mind whilst follower ‘Walkaway’ was the choice track of the night for my mate, Photographer Andy Laing! ‘Guiding Star’ took the night up a notch with John Power appearing to love every moment with the Glasgow crowd responding in volume to each track. ‘Free Me’ closed the night out and once again I was left wanting more. With a new album due next year and new(ish) track ‘Baby Blue Eyes’ currently streaming I am hoping CAST or another John Power/Skin super-group such as that of tonight will return to Scotland again next year.
Words: Bazza Mills
Twitter: @bazzamills