Another freezing Saturday night at the Fraser Centre
Déjà vu, park the car at Tesco, Milngavie & then walk through the tunnel into the greatest little venue on the planet. This past year has been illuminated not by all those naff seasonal outdoor lights, but by the real deal, honest, personal & intimate gigs by the best folk artists around.
Last night was no exception as Rab Noakes lit up a bleak, wintry night by giving a superb solo performance at the Fraser Centre, Milngavie. I was glad it was solo, no disrespect to Fraser Speirs, but I concur with one of the bands on the Pork Label (Funky Porcini? Or Heights of Abraham?) who recorded, ‘Harmonicas are Shite’. I have lived through the blues boom & I have had enough acoustic guitar & harmonica duos to last a lifetime.
The happy highlanders had hinted that there would be a bit of R & B, soul & tamla, but there was also a killer version of Beck’s ‘Devil’s Haircut’ & an Everley Bros finale.
Also you meet such fine people at these gigs. I was chatting with someone I met about crazy nights at the Maryland, Glasgow in the early 70s & the fact that the early vibrant folk scene in Scotland has not really been recorded in the printed form.
Trying to find out about these gigs is such a challenging task itself, even for a librarian. I am annoyed & having missed Robin Williamson last month, but I am determined to try & get to Mike Heron’s performance sometime in the New Year.
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