LIVE REVIEW: Ocean Colour Scene, Burr Island, O2 Academy, Glasgow, 18/12/2023
It seems like a lifetime ago that Chris Evans TFI Friday show belted out the classic guitar riffs of Ocean Colour Scene track The Riverboat Song week after week but after tonight’s show at Glasgow’s O2 Academy we have come to realise that their music is timeless. After more than thirty years in the music business these guys are still selling out their shows wherever they play and this was night one of two sold out shows in Glasgow.
Alternative indie folk duo Burr Island were a good choice of support and they have been championed by Ocean Colour Scene’s Steve Cradock and they were even invited to record at Cradock’s Kundalini recording studios in Devon. Burr Island are comprised of best friends Tom England and Oskar Porter who would normally tour as a duo but for this tour they had a full band, which added to the atmosphere as the standing area filled up. The connectivity between the five band members was of a very high standard and some of the melodies during the set were a highlight especially during Nunney Town and English Roses. Their latest release Towers was appreciated by the crowd as the half hour set got them warmed up for the main act. 7/10
As Fairytale Of New York played over the speakers, the audience sang along to the classic Christmas track as a tribute to the late Shane MacGowan of The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, a track which was first sang live at Glasgow Barrowland, it was a fitting moment as it was one day short of ten years since The Pogues played their last Glasgow gig at the O2 Academy. As Steve Cradock, Oscar Harrison and Raymond Meade took to the stage Cradock announced that tonight’s show would be dedicated to Shane MacGowan and Terry Hall with whom Cradock had worked alongside when he played guitar with The Specials for a few years in 2014. Vocalist Simon Fowler took to the stage with his acoustic guitar to a thunderous roar from the crowd and the first notes of One For The Road, a track from their 1996 Moseley Shoals album, to the delight of the fans who didn’t need much encouragement to get tonight’s party started. With eleven albums behind them this band know what the fans want as the set continued with two track from the One From The Modern album, Families and July being the songs, giving the fans a taste of what was to come.
The Ocean Colour Scene fanbase is anything from 30s upwards and they would be taken on a sentimental journey tonight by their favourite band at the sold out O2 Academy which was demonstrated during The Circle, as it seemed the whole venue was singing back the words enthusiastically. They would eventually play seven songs from Moseley Schoals and Marchin’ Already proving that these two albums are still firm favourites with their fanbase. Better Day and Debris Road raised the energy in the O2 to fever pitch followed by a surprise track in Go To The Sea taken from the 2007 album On The Leyline, which was actually making its tour debut. The famous Riverboat Song and Hundred Mile High City ended the main set as the band left the stage to applause from the appreciative crowd. As everyone got their breath the band returned to play a three track encore and three big hitters in Robin Hood;which is always a crowd pleaser was followed by Profit In Peace which really does seem like a relevant track at the moment with all that’s going on in the world, with the crowd joining in with the chorus as Fowler sang “Hey, Hey, Hey, We don’t wanna fight no more/But there’s no profit in peace/So we gotta fight some more”. The emotions radiating around the room were intense giving everyone a chance to reflect on these song lyrics and perhaps realising that the not much has changed since these songs were written in the 1990s. The best was left for last as the band’s most popular song by far The Day We Caught The Train ended the night on a high note with everyone joining in for one last singalong. This was a superb night of music all round and the band would no doubt be excited as they had it all to look forward to again the following night! 9/10
Written By: Alan Brown
