Chemikal Underground 15th birthday

02/02/2010

Chemikal spill @ ABC, Glasgow

Chemikal Underground 15^th Anniversary
O2 ABC
4/5

Predictably, the guest-list is a Who’s Who of the Scots indie mafia, as seven bands signed to the nation’s much-loved Chemikal Underground imprint take to the stage to celebrate the label’s 15^th birthday and put an indie twist on the closing night of the Celtic Connections bill.

Opening proceedings could be a daunting prospect, but Irish songsmith Adrian Crowley, gives the crowd a heartfelt and generous performance of songs from his five albums. ‘The Beekeeper’s Wife’ has the audience quiet and still, while his happy-sad vocals fill the room.

Zoey Van Goey are up next, a bubbly trio of multi-instrumentalists full of personality and funny anecdotes. Lead-storyteller Matt Brennan has the crowd chuckling, as they make the most of their flexibility, moving round the stage giving everything a tap or a strum during a set whose highlight is ‘We Don’t Have That Kind of Bread,’ from album The Cage Was Unlocked All Along.

Next up is an excellent debut performance from ex-Aerogramme pair Craig B and Iain Cook, in their new ensemble The Unwinding Hours. Craig reveals, “I am shitting myself,” but they blow everyone away with an amazing performance. Most of their set is loud and lively, but the beginning of set-closer song, ‘The Final Hour’ is so gentle and quiet that you can actually hear the hand dryers going in the toilets.

They are followed by Lord Cut Glass, a 10-piece folk group orchestrated by label founder and erstwhile Delgado Alun Woodward, borrowing Kim Moore of Zoey Van Goey for vocals, with the most exciting of the multifarious instruments weaving around the stage being a ‘love fiddle’. Their music is joyful, and the lyrics are witty and wise, as they exhort their audience to “look after your wife – you’ve got her for life.”

Aidan John Moffat and Bill Wells arrive on stage as the night hits its peak. This is Celtic Connections at its absolute best. Moffat almost speaks his deep and grainy lyrics, whilst Wells plays beautiful melodies on his keyboard. The duo have created a sound which is so much their own that they have almost created their own genre. Their set is brought to life by a double bass and strange stories from Moffat about teenage mystery.

Co-founder of Chemikal Underground Emma Pollok comes on like a veteran telling the crowd that she is rather embarrassed about her first record being released on a different label. “The less songs played from that one tonight the better!” she says, as she airs several newies from her forthcoming album The Law of Large Numbers.

Almost four hours after curtain-up, The Phantom Band’s lead singer Rick Antony notes that there were never as many guests at his 15^th birthday party, as his outfit take us out on a high with their heavily guitar-riffed experimental art-rock, eliciting not unflattering comparisons to the Beta Band.

Chemikal have outdone themselves tonight; here’s to the next 15 years.

Christine Lavelle