Xiu Xiu

with Mokusla

What makes us go to a gig?

We know and like the artist and they’re in town.
We’ve heard they’re good from someone else and listened to a few tracks on Spotify.
It’s a Saturday night and I’ve not got a lot else to do.
The band name begins with the letter X and I need that to complete my first A to Z in the #AtoZMusicalTour

I can tick the first three of the above for any number of gigs this year, but the sole reason to attend the Xiu Xiu gig was the last one!

X was the final letter to be ticked off on the first leg of the #AtoZMusicalTour.

Since we started in January of 2024, we can now say we’ve seen a musical act that begins with every letter of the alphabet. More to follow in the next post here

So having bought a ticket on the blind, I then bought a couple of albums, quite liked what I had heard and headed to Room 2 in Nelson Mandela Square on a damp Saturday night full of anticipation, for what I wasn’t sure.

The queue outside suggested that I wasn’t alone in wanting to see a band best described as experimental.

They were touring their most recent album ’13” Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto With Bison Horn Grips‘, the title alone suggesting something out there may be about to happen.

I can imagine that some listening to the playlist in the blog here might be a little put off by some of the tracks selected for this particular performance. In truth, this was a unique gig compared to all the others attended this year as par of the #AtoZMusicalTour.

There may only be three of them, Jamie Stewart on guitar, vocals and the odd percussion instrument, Angela Seo on percussion, keyboards, synths and vocals and finally on drums David Kendrick, but together they make a rare noise, sometimes you can even sense a structured tune amongst it. Not a criticism, a matter of fact which should not be lost on those new to the band.

Jamie Stewart varies his vocal duties between loud wails and yells to quiet, even melodic overtures, sometimes within the same song, which kept us all on our toes.

Both Angela and David added their own virtuoso performances to make the set a roller coaster of unsettling brilliance.

It is as much an intense artistic performance as a musical gig. Even the break out of the venue alarm, a false alarm I should add, didn’t deter anyone. As Jamie mentioned, it might have been difficult for the audience to discern whether it was the venue or the music from stage that was making the wailing background sound. It was the type of thing they might even have recorded themselves.

The final surprise, of many that night, was the closing song, Fabulous Muscles. A solo effort from Jamie. A tender song, sang to a hushed and respectful audience. So unlike what had gone before. So tender and probably a fitting way to dis-orientate the audience as they filed back out to the still damp Glasgow night.

Was it different? Definitely.

Was it worth the investment in hearing and seeing them play? Definitely.

Was it a fitting end to this leg of our own tour? Most certainly

In fact it makes us want to go out on a limb more often.

Support act Mokusla

Donegal born, but based in Glasgow, Mokusla took to the stage without any fanfare, switched on her backing track and launched into a series of tracks both old and new from her latest EP celebrating her core friendships over the years.

There was a hint of another Irish singer and composer of years gone by Enya, however the songs felt modern and in tune with the world today. There is a mystical quality to her voice and the accompanying tracks ensure that this is to the fore.

She’s appearing in the new year as part of the Celtic Connections Festival and is definitely worth another look.