28 February 2026, The Glad Cafe
Walking into the Glad Café on Saturday night to see the Mackenzies and Land Surveyor play felt a bit like going back in time to the 1980s. Four decades or so later, the anticipation was the same. The chatter about the bands and musicians who played around that earlier period had an almost mystical feel about it.
And here we were, crowded into a sweat filled room in the southside of Glasgow to witness the ‘return’ of one half of Josef K in the form of Paul Haig & Malcolm Ross to warm us up, though heat was clearly never in need.
Josef K, remain an institution in many people’s eyes. A band who defined a style that would influence many who followed. And while Malcolm Ross has been spotted over the past few years ‘helping’ bands out on a seemingly ad-hoc basis, this was the first sighting for me at least of Paul Haig. Both were more than ably supported by Daniel Hill (drums) and Norman Villeroux (bass and synthesisers) who quite easily brought the average age down by a few years.
Did the music live up to the hype around the room ahead of their entrance on stage? It certainly did.
Old or new, borrowed or blue, the band treated us to a short and highly enjoyable set including:
#SwingingBy, #Crowd, #ItsKindaFunny, #KindaKeen, #Worse, #TheMissionary, #Serious, #SomethingGood and #AnotherOne
The only thing that was missing was another one. They thought about an encore but for this time at least let the opportunity slide by.
Musicians can sometimes be put on a pedestal for something they achieved many years previously with the pedestal kept warm through the fond memories of those present at the time. I missed Josef K in their pomp and have listened to the albums. Read the books and learned from afar how highly thought of they were.
What Saturday night demonstrated for me is that both Paul Haig and Malcolm Ross are musicians of the highest standing, very humble in their own abilities and seemingly delighted to have old friends with them to which they can play their music.
A new album may be in the offing and, on this showing at least, whether the songs are old, new, borrowed or blue, they have a ready made audience eager to hear that the progress of time has not diminished the level of output they and the rest of the band can produce.
Like Land Surveyor, the Mackenzies are having a renaissance of sorts and hopefully they too are enjoying the memories that they are providing to a fan base who in the heat of the night, watched them strut their distinctive style of music.
Not the first time I had seen the band, though not as an audience member in the 1980s but one of only a few months previously and an occasion that had struck me as one I’d hope to enjoy again. Saturday night the was the second coming so to speak and like the first they certainly never disappointed once some initial technical hurdles were overcome.
Digging around the internet they, and others, describe the band has having a jagged indie-funk style mixed in with a bit of post punk attitude. Stylistically they remind me of the band Rip Rig &Panic which is no band thing.
However, the Mackenzies are an entity in their own right and at this moment in time distinct from any other act I’ve seen over the past few years. That in itself draws you in to the sounds they make, two guitarists, bass, trumpet and sax, drums and then frontman on vocals, bass, guitar, whistle and any other instrument I might have missed Gary Weir. The saying ‘aye, he’s a character’ aptly sums him up throughout the show. There’s a confident persona that engages the crowd and his bandmates. It’s a persona that makes everyone feel welcome, that he and his ‘mates’ on stage are having as much fun as those in front of him. He was certainly feeling the heat of the occasion like the rest of us.
Musically, well the band sped through 10 songs that may or may not appear on a forthcoming album.
#CopCar, #Dig, #NewBreed, #ManWithNoReason, #DogBreakfast, #MealyMouths, #Milk, #Anomaly, #BlowByBlow and finally #StateImIn
No encore, but a precious memory to take into the Glasgow fresh air.
Hopefully the first of a few gigs seeing Land Surveyor and more to see with the Mackenzies in the future too.
