Gracing Dundee’s Beat Generator Live! stage last Saturday was Glasgow based artist, Declan Welsh, as part of his group, Declan Welsh and the Decadent West. Welsh is currently a singer, songwriter and poet whilst also being a board member of the charity Children in Scotland. Clearly a man of many talents, Welsh delivers inimitable, thought-provoking talent in his music exploring themes relevant to all of us in the modern day such as class divide, identity and a sense of banality and triviality in Scotland in the 21st century.
In music, we all know of artists where the live experience of seeing a group/artist surpasses all of the emotion, intensity and feeling that could possibly be put onto a record. Welsh is certainly one of these artists that fall into that category... (for more on Declan Welsh, you can take a look at my Discovery Music gig preview here which features more detail about Welsh’s EP and the success and acclaim that this has brought the group to date).
Opening the night was local solo artist Sean Findlay who personally, I have known for some time now as we had recently studied music together at university over the course of the past three years whilst both being avid musicians regularly involved in the local music scene. Over this period of time, Findlay featured in now defunct local band Catch who regularly performed material of a quaint, 60’s, Rolling Stones-esque vibe.
With Findlay now performing solo for the time being, the same 60’s vibe is still as prominent as ever with just an acoustic guitar and a distinct, grainy, heavily blues influenced vocal very similar to the likes of John Lennon featuring on the night. Upon first impressions at the start of the performance, it is clear that a talented musician is performing – capable of grabbing the room’s attention within seconds.
Performing a number of songs which I have previously heard in the past, the notable stand-out points were undoubtedly the two new tracks that were performed titled ‘Just Can’t Get You Out My Head’ and ‘Take Me Seriously Baby’. Both these tracks opened up a deep, introspective look into Findlay’s abilities of artistic expression which portrayed vast emotion and sensitivity. Hoping that there is even more new material in the works, I will personally be on look-out for more in the near future.
Neil Morrison Band featured next on the bill which, by chance, happens to be another artist/group who I have had the pleasure of playing alongside/watching several times in the past year. With notable rock ‘n roll influences such as The Velvet Underground teeming throughout the group’s music, it is clear that Morrison is another talented musician with a bright future ahead of him with the likes of Jack Jones (Pete Doherty’s guitarist) mentioning, “the future of Scottish rock ‘n roll depends on this boy”.
Lou Reed of The Velvet Underground was certainly the main influence felt through the group’s lively performance on the night with Morrison’s distinct vocal twang, very similar to that of Reed’s, a unique characteristic to the performance featuring amongst a charismatic lead guitar performance full of a wide range of effects and a solid drum performance providing the driving pulse for the rest of the group.
The stand-out point, for me, was the group’s performance of ‘I’m Waiting For The Man’ by - none other than - The Velvet Underground which lifted the energy levels on stage and in the crowd considerably. Neil Morrison band have several gigs lined up around Dundee and the surrounding areas in the very near future which, for lovers of rock ‘n roll, are not to be missed.
Last but not least, Declan Welsh and the Decadent West took to the stage. From the offset and throughout, Welsh’s interaction with the crowd provided the foundation for an immersive, captivating performance on the night. As mentioned at the beginning of the article, all music lovers will know that on occasion, the live experience of going to see a group/artist in person far exceeds the experience felt of listening to their record at home.
From Welsh’s first lyrics opening with “Good Person, Bad Things”, I was amazed at how immersed he became in his own music. The sense of passion and belief portrayed from Welsh was visible in every lyric and strum of his Stratocaster guitar throughout the set which had the crowd (myself included) absorbed from the get-go. Alongside notable, energetic performances of the tracks 'Lull' and 'No Pasaran', on two occasions, Welsh respectfully chose to include fitting tributes to other talented Scottish groups The Amazing Snakeheads and The Lapelles into his set.
The performance of 'Here it Comes Again' by The Amazing Snakeheads was played in tribute to, in Welsh’s words, “a force of nature and a huge inspiration to us and many others”, referring to Dale Barclay – the lead singer of The Amazing Snakeheads who sadly currently suffers from brain cancer and recently had a fundraiser event held in Glasgow to help raise funds for his treatment. On the night, Welsh noted that he was amazed that a song featuring just four words ('Here it Comes Again') had the capability to portray more emotion than a song with fifty different words – which it evidently did.
Secondly, concluding the set, Welsh spoke of the good times he remembered fondly from the past with former lead singer of Glasgow based band The Lapelles, Gary Watson, who tragically died on the eve of his 22nd birthday two years ago. With this, Welsh conveyed his form of solace drawn upon Watson’s tragic circumstances highlighting his feelings on the importance of community spirit, togetherness and happiness which were met with great appreciation from the audience aptly rounding off an impressive, enchanting performance from the group who are one of Scotland’s brightest prospects at the minute for very good reason.
Social Media Links:
コメント