Concert review
Ramshorn Theatre, Glasgow, 30 September 2003
by Bill Matthews
I was lucky enough, largely through the good offices of Dirk and GR Management, to get in to see
two of the gigs at the Ramshorn Theatre in Glasgow. Here are some of my thoughts on the day,
from a musicians perspective.
Firstly, organisation was immaculate. Gigs started promptly on time, and the venue logistics were great.
Given the size and shape of the venue the sound was fantastic, not too loud, but enough for impact.
Sharleen's voice was great, both naturally (standing close enough to hear her) and in the mix. What was
particularly striking for me was the volume she gets from such a small body, and how well she sounded
at such an early start (10am). She still sounded good after four gigs at 9pm. Her trusty black telecaster
made a few outings.
Ally was sporting a new guitar, a Les Paul Bob Marley custom which he played throughout, though I saw
his guitar tech with the usual ES335 standing by. Talking to him and the tech later I understand they've
bought a couple of them - one for him and one for Sharleen. He looked relaxed throughout and seems t
enjoy the new material.
Tony was playing a Telecaster throughout - nice 1970s vintage blonde one. His guitar work was a little
more obvious this close and was really solid .... From what I can remember it looked like all guitarists
were playing through Fender amps, but I did see a Vox AC30 sitting near Tony ...
Johnny was sporting a gorgeous Rickenbacker bass in what's called Fireglo finish (I think). I saw a spare
in JetGlo (black) in the spares rack. Great sound, especially through the monster Ampeg rig that he
uses. Wonder whether the CD was recorded on the Ricky or the old Fender Jazz that he used on the last tour ?
Shame on me that I don't remember what drum kit new drummer Neil was using - all I do remember that
it was a relatively small kit, and we'll see if that survives the extravangances of touring ..
Eddie had his usual Hammond organ, rack of sequencers, a synth (which might have been a Novation),
and a lovely new upright piano (which is also a midi keyboard). I don't know anything about DJ-ing so
I can't vouch for Mark One's gear.
In terms of Performance, I'd say ....
The band was really tight on both performances. I'm not sure that I heard any bum notes on the two
live shows that I saw, so the material seem really well rehearsed. 'Broken' and 'Telephone X' are great
guitar tracks and will be great for Southside when they become singles !! 'See it Through' does seem
to do more than nod in the direction of the Carpenters, but that's no bad thing. The performance at
the shows was acoustic with Eddie on piano, and it makes a great number done in that way (I'd imagine
that there will be other versions of this). Carnival Girl was a revelation for me - without volume (i.e. on
radio) I've always felt that it lacked something, but in the flesh, with the towering Kardinal peforming
live it was absolutely outstanding !! A huge performance, and it'll be interesting to see if this translates
in future performances when Kardinal may not be onstage (wonder if that's why it's the first single ?).
The older songs (SWYW, IS and BEB) were performed in much the same versions as they were
during the last tour, with a couple of minor changes at the finish.
In short, two great performances, the energy of which wasn't borne out by the 12:00 live show that
I heard on the radio. The new songs are great, and will become new crowd pleasers as the album sinks
in. Most of all - they seemed to be enjoying themselves !!!
Bill
http://www.billymatthews.com
P.S. We're auditioning for a Kardinal lookalike so that this West of Scotland based band can have a
chance of doing Carnival Girl live !!! :-)
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