Someone I know suffered a disappointment recently - the Genesis reunion tour was cancelled due to Covid. I felt for the disappointment but not the band I'm afraid. a group of rich middle class men temporarily unable to top up the pension pot is not something I can get too sympathetic about in this world. I wish love, happiness and health to all bands whatever their age but a Genesis reunion tour is one bus I'm happy to miss.
My focus as I've got older has been to seek out new music. I've never subscribed to the nostalgia circus of bands reforming to play on past glories. There may be the occasional exception....but only for something exceptional (my judgement) like Magazine reforming to perform 'The Correct Use of Soap' album (to be fair they also threw a new album into the mix) and then they were gone.
In the current landscape of the restarted gig scene I have discovered new music that means more to me than any Genesis redux.
Mt. Doubt, Victoria Park Hotel
First up was catching Mt Doubt play the Victoria Park Hotel in Leith. This was most probably the first live gig in Leith since Covid hit and closed things down. Indeed at the height of the first Covid lockdown the Victoria Park Hotel became accommodation for homeless people with no recourse to public funds. As a venue its a good size and as I arrived it was clear that Mt Doubt were more than capable of filling the space. It was heartening to see the crowd gather almost as if things were normal but for the adoption of facemasks.
Mt Doubt are new to me. While I have been aware of them for a while I was there on the recommendation of a friend (who couldn't show as he'd was with lurgy though thankfully not that one!). I settled in for the show and was won over by Leo Bargery and band as they worked though the phenomenally good 'Doubtlands' album. I had flashbacks to those bands form Scotland that I'd never saw about a decade ago like The Last Battle or Admiral Fallow but listened to obsessively. Here was a music that was its own but harked back to something recognisable to me but with no hint of nostalgia. These are songs from Scotland and the world now. To say I enjoyed to evening is an understatement - I bought the album on cd and bagged a t-shirt as well. Shout out to Lisburn who opened for Mt Doubt, I really warmed to that sound as well. New music not old nostalgia that's the future.
Lizzie Reid, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut
Hands up my daughter plays music and as a music fan I'm very supportive. So much so I drove in atrocious weather to Dundee and then from the city of jute, jam and journalism to Glasgow and the legendary King Tut's Wah Wah Hut to take her to a support gig for rising talent Lizzie Reid. I hadn't heard Lizzie Reid until the journey from Dundee to Glasgow and those Spotify moments hit home with the songs 'Company Car' and 'Cubicle'. The gig was busy as you might expect for someone shortlisted for the SAY award on the strength of an extended e.p.. After opening sets from Juan Laforet and Naomi Munn (I confess to many proud dad moments during that return to stage after two years away from live music) Lizzie took to the stage with a full band and put on a show that was as stunning in both song writing and performance as anything I've seen for some time. Whatever that alchemy is that song writers on the rise have she's got it in spades and whether she pulls of a SAY win or not is immaterial really as the strength of these songs indicates that we'll be hearing a lot more from Lizzie Reid. There was a lot of love in the room for her on Friday night and the room was generous enough to share that love with the support acts. As they should as this was a night of new music not nostalgia. This is the future.
To anyone who says they've heard it all before I say really? Shake off your memories of youth and listen to the new sounds of young Scotland. It's all out there now and you don't have to use your pension lump sum to buy a ticket.
https://mtdoubt.bandcamp.com/
Lizzie Reid - Company Car
Juan Laforet
Naomi Munn
