30 May 2026, Oran Mor
A week can be a long time in politics as they say whether that be at community, local, national or international level.
The same could be said for the past week in our #AtoZMusicalTour where we were entered the genres of Ska, Indie Guitar and Chamber pop.
The first saw us journey across Glasgow to Oran Mor to have our senses battered by three bands that took our breath away.
Long Shots kicked off the evening with some toe tapping numbers that had the early arrivals marvelling at the sounds emanating from all the band members on stage.
For ska, that’s particularly true of the brass section who take it in turn to show off their individual and collective expertise.
Add some drums, bass and vocals and the sum of sll these parts were everything the audience could hope for.
With Long Shots exiting the stage it was left to Esperanza to follow on as best they could to that opening salvo.
And their response was emphatic. While guitar and vocals were to the fore, again it was left to the brass section to deliver the Ska USP with sax, trombone and trumpet providing the extra ingredients that make good dance tracks sound great.
I have to mention here my conflict of interest in the band with my good mate Adam Lawson keeping a steady beat on drums.
The band have been around the scene for more than a few years and everyone on stage knew exactly what to do, when to do it, and how to enjoy themselves while entertaining those on the floor moving in tandem with the music.
Finally, Bombskare, a band I hadn’t seen before but after this performance its one I hope to repeat on a much more regular basis.
It seemed as each band took to the stage it was a race to see how many each could manage to participate. Long Shots had seven or eight, Esperanza had nine but Bombskare topped that with ten.
If Long Shots were good and Esperanza fantastic, Bombskare were absolutely superb, fully deserving of their headline status.
With them, the pair of vocalists were to the fore though yet again it was the brass section your eyes and ears turned to as they provided the backdrop to the lyrics being sung with a fair amount of gusto.
Not any old lyrics too. They were steeped in cinematic imagery from Where Eagles Dare through the James Bond signature theme to probably the best cover version of Live and Let Die I’ve yet to hear.
My pal Dek came in tow with me and there may have been a slight bit of scepticism in going to see three ska bands in a Saturday night.
Like me though he was totally won over by the music, the bands and the whole atmosphere that they generated.
One Step Beyond. But what a step.
