Looking Out To Sea

We spent the weekend in Glasgow for a wedding — and more on that in a future blog post — but while there we took the opportunity to see Duke Special in concert at the Òran Mór on Saturday night.

I knew nothing of the music before arriving. Helen had played me some a few days before but I was busy doing other things and not concentrating fully. I wasn’t too worried about this. Helen had seen him once before, also without any foreknowledge or preparation (presumably as a support act?) and had really enjoyed it.

And so it was. He turned out to be immensely enjoyable: catchy, intelligent and slightly ramshackle. Just the way I like ‘em. He has a slight air of vaudeville and junkyard band to him, a little bit of Tom Waits’ dark twisted stories and obscure vignettes. Also, gotta love that Northern Irish accent. This is Sweet Sweet Kisses from his new album:

The show was quite early finishing — we were out of there by 10.30 — but the final encore was such a great ending that I really didn’t care. The whole band came off stage, carrying electric guitar (unplugged), double bass and tambourine, and stood in the centre of the hall, with the audience crowded around. Then they taught us Creaky Boat Blues, a sea shanty of sorts, which the whole audience was urged to sing.

Here’s another video from a gig a few days before the Glasgow one, where they did the same thing and someone caught it on video. Enjoy!

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