LIVE REVIEW: Johnny Marr, The Clockworks, Kelvingrove Bandstand, Glasgow, 25/07/2024
Photo Credit: Andy Cotterill
When the tickets went on sale for this gig months ago the two thousand or so tickets sold out within fifteen minutes, proving the pulling power of Johnny Marr who has already played a show at Barrowland in the city back in April. Marr needs little introduction here as most people know him as the guitarist from The Smiths and alongside Bernard Sumner and Neil Tennant founded the electro-pop band Electronic. Tonight’s venue is very unique, opened in 1921 the Kelvingrove Bandstand is an outdoor amphitheatre used for decades to host all kinds of shows before it fell into a state of disrepair but thankfully it was saved and refurbished now hosting the Summer Nights sessions every summer offering an alternative to Barrowland and the O2 Academy, of course this is all weather dependent and tonight there is some rain.
The support was only announced the day before the show and we were delighted when we found out that it was to be Galway rockers The Clockworks, a band we are seeing for the first time tonight, they join a growing list of up and coming Irish acts including NewDad (also from Galway), CMAT, Fontaines DC, SPRINTS, Kingfishr among others. They took to the stage at 8pm with the amphitheatre being over half full already as vocalist James McGregor led the four-piece through a forty minute set with tracks mainly from their 2023 debut album Exit Strategy, there were lots of Fontaines DC vibes in the music from the now London based band, Lost In The Moment is one of the best of the set alongside 2019 debut single Bills and Pills prompting a small singalong moment from the crowd. There is a definite Smiths influence running through The Clockworks music and that’s perhaps why Johnny Marr chose them as support. The last two tracks of the set Enough Is Never Enough and The Future Is Not What It Was were outstanding and we can honestly say that they gained lots of new fans with this performance. We are looking forward to watching them perform on Sunday 4th August at the Y Not Festival in Derbyshire, a festival that will be covered by Bring The Noise 9/10
Just after 9pm it’s blue-sky weather again as the sun goes down and the lights come on, the Bandstand set in Kelvingrove Park is now packed out, looking amazing as Marr begins with one of his own tracks Armatopia making it nice and easy for the fans to join in with the ‘na na na’ chorus, the crowd seem to be well up for this one. Panic, the first of the eight Smiths tracks Marr will play tonight gets a great crowd response, this energy continues into the next track Generate! Generate! as the charismatic frontman shows his class on the guitar, it was one of those can’t take your eyes off him moments, one of many during this gig! Spirit Power and Soul keeps the crowd energetic but really most people are here tonight to hear the Smiths songs, during This Charming Man the crowd erupts in delight prompting a mass singalong moment, Johnny Marr is playing these tracks just as good as he did in the 1980s, the energy in this place is unreal. Of course its not just all about Johnny, joining him on stage are three other outstanding musicians, James Doviak is in charge of keyboards and guitar with Iwan Gronow on bass and Jack Mitchell on drums. Doviak excels on Walk Into The Sea and Hi Hello, the latter track being one of the best of the set as Marr and Doviak collectively bring the house down, it was certainly a goosebumps moment for this writer.
We were then taken back to the early 1990s to the time of Electronic as Get The Message was played to the delight of the crowd, the two tracks went down just as well as the Smiths tracks to be honest with just about everyone singing the lyrics back to the stage creating a memorable moment. As we neared the end of the main set Getting Away With It had the same response from the crowd as did the Smiths track There Is A Light That Never Goes Out. The encore began with a cover of the Iggy Pop classic The Passenger, a delightful way to end the night on a high, but it was another Smiths number that was the last of the eighteen track set that drove the crowd wild one last time, You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, Baby being the track. One thing we need to say about the bandstand is that there are health and safety issues, a very drunken man that was standing behind us during the gig fell on top of us and caused an injury … oh well we suppose that’s rock and roll for you! 10/10
Written by: Alan Brown
