The newly re-opened Kelvingrove Bandstand is the venue for tonight’s free gig, and a good number of people of all ages appear to have braved the elements to soak up (no pun intended) a bit of the Glasgow 2014 atmosphere.
I wander through the airport style security (strange for a gig like this, I know) and catch the last 10 minutes of James Yorkston’s set; the Fife musician promoting his most recent album The Cellardyke Recording and Wassailing Society.
Yorkston plays in a very talented four-piece band and even in ten minutes shows why he’s so highly regarded in the Scottish folk scene.
The headline act of the evening seems to be the one everyone is here to see though, and there is a thunderous applause when Vic Galloway (the compare of the evening) introduces Roddy Hart and the Lonesome Fire.
Playing a set which is heavy in tracks from their self-titled debut, the six-piece open with single ‘Cold City Avalanche’, which sounds huge with three guitars all playing.
Amplifier problems half way through the set (Hart later blames this on them not getting a soundcheck due to the lawn bowls – “the most rock ’n’ roll reason ever”) lead to the frontman trying a brand new song, ‘West’, which he plays solo on piano and goes down well with the Glasgow crowd.
Other highlights include ‘Queenstown’ and brilliant final song ‘Bright Light Fever’, which gets the crowd dancing and singing along in their waterproof ponchos before shouting for an encore, to which the band oblige.
Still newly opened, things are looking good for the Kelvingrove Bandstand right now; with a fantastic sound and one of Glasgow’s best bands at the moment, the evening is an immensely successful night of free music in the west end.
Words: Neil Hayton
