ARAB STRAP / DE ROSA / VIVA STEREO

Glasgow, ABC - 4th December 2006

In truth I feel a bit of a fraud at this one, owning as I do just the one Arab Strap album (last year’s excellent “The Last Romance”.) Having bought the record just before the show was originally announced I had considered buying a ticket but dithered too long. By the time I’d bought the De Rosa LP, tipping the balance into wanting to go, the gig had sold out.

Fortunately though last week, after a fruitless fortnight on Ebay,  The Vinyl Villain came to my rescue with a spare ticket so I am, after all, able to make my first (and last) Arab Strap gig.

As mentioned above the hotly tipped De Rosa were a significant factor in going to the show so when we’re coming up the stairs at 7.30 there’s a brief moment of panic when I hear a band on stage.

Viva Stereo

However it transpires that the band making  the noise is not De Rosa but first support act Viva Stereo and they’re midway through their set by the time we get in. Heavy rock with electronic accessories, the words ‘Temple’, ‘Clause’ and ‘Cooper’ should put you in the right ballpark. But as I like some CTC, Viva Stereo prove to be fairly enjoyable despite a sound which could best be described as murky.

De Rosa are up next and the poor sound for VS is of some concern given the subtlety of the ‘Mend’ LP. These concerns seem borne out early on through a messy ‘Father’s Eyes’ and an ‘All Saints Day’ which at times sounds like a train wreck.

The quieter ‘The Engineer’ though is a step in the right direction even if the VV doesn’t like the song. The fourth song isn’t on the LP (turns out it’s called ‘In Code’) but it’s quite a departure from the record with its electronic textures giving a further indication of this band’s range.

De Rosa

Fortunately the second half of the too-short set sounds much better than the first couple of songs and De Rosa gain a fair amount of momentum. Their live approach (just like Wheat did along the street) carries a harder, rockier edge as the acoustic guitars on the likes of ‘New Lanark’ and ‘Evelyn’ are replaced with all electric versions. To close the double punch of ‘Camera’ and a particularly rocky ‘Cathkin Braes’ brings down the curtain in some style.  

But whilst the beefed up live version of De Rosa works quite well there’s no doubt that something is lost in translation. Maybe next time there will be more room for the record's subtlety.

So finally to the headliners. As explained above, I’m not overly familiar with the Arab Strap back catalogue and, prior to purchasing the LP, I'd had this notion of the band as monochrome miserabilists. Even if the LP hadn't done it already then this show would certainly have shattered such an illusion and it’s to their credit that throughout an almost 2 hour set my interest never flags.

Let's get the gripe out of the way first. The sound problems from earlier on aren't entirely resolved for even the headliners. The major problem is that Malcolm Middleton's electric guitar in particular is inaudible at times. But in the end it does little to detract from a memorable evening.

The uptempo tracks from ‘The Last Romance’ are sprinkled throughout the set which is split roughly evenly between the upbeat and the melancholic. What’s apparent though is even at their most downbeat there are moments of rare musical beauty, even when set against some of the most frank commentaries on life'n'stuff ever committed to record.

The main set is a brought to a close in a vivid technicolor fashion which lifts the odd riff from the Flaming Lips . LP closer 'There Is No End’ briefly replicates the LP's fmini-choir, which includes Delgado Stewart Henderson and a gentleman in an animal costume, whilst the start of ‘The First Big Weekend’ is heralded by the release of a huge pile of balloons.

Of course after such an upbeat finale, the encores swing in mood to the opposite end of teh spectrum as the final few number are pretty much acoustic. The addition of Chemikal cellist chappie Alan Barr for 3 numbers briefly swells the band to 6 but by the end of the encores fittingly it’s just Moffat and Middleton playing ’The Shy Retirer’.

Arab Strap therefore pass into history and, like Chemikal labelmates the Delgados, you can’t help feeling that this uniquely Scottish band, doubtless an acquired taste for many, will probably only be fully missed now they’ve gone.

Arab Strap photos

 

 

De Rosa setlist

Father's Eyes
All Saints Day
The Engineer
In Code
Evelyn
New Lanark
Camera
Cathkin Braes

 

Links for this show

Arab Strap official site
De Rosa Myspace site
Viva Stereo! Myspace site
The Vinyl Villain