Gomez - Barrowlands, Glasgow (17/11/2006)

I've been following Gomez for quite a long time now, and seen a fair few of their live shows. Having missed them earlier in the year and seen a far-too-short set at V Festival in August I was determined to catch them while they were over here promoting their new Best Of release. Unfortunately they decided not to play anywhere near me so it was a choice between the two Saturday nights - Glasgow or Newcastle-Under-Lyme. I've heard great things about Barrowlands, so Glasgow it was.

We arrived at our hotel around 3.30pm, checked in, and went to a nearby Scream bar for a drink. At 5pm, we thought we'd better look for something to eat. It was absolutely pouring with rain, so we thought we'd make our way to the venue and hope to see somewhere on the way. We ended up in Tiger Tiger - the food was ok, but over-priced. Fed and watered, we made our way in the still-pouring rain to Barrowlands.

I think we got there about 10 minutes after the doors opened. Barrowlands is a confusing place, but we managed to put our coats in the cloakroom, buy a T-shirt and a limited edition poster (on thick card, thanks to the merch guy for looking after it during the gig!) and grab a drink before making our way up to the stage area. We were amazed that we managed to bag a front row spot, right in front of where Tom would be playing. Maybe it was the rain, maybe it was the smoking ban, but we were more than happy with this vantage point.

The Barrowlands is an old ballroom dancing hall. It holds about 2000, and it's quite square which I imagine gives a good view for all. Support was provided by Josh Ritter, an American singer/songwriter who looked like he was having far too much fun! He obviously had some fans in the crowd, but his enthusiasm was infectious and we very much enjoyed his set.

By the time Gomez came on the hall had filled up, althought we still felt like we had plenty of breathing space (in my experience Gomez gigs can get quite rowdy!). California from Liquid Skin was an unusually quiet opener, but the song picks up pace towards the end and was followed by uptempo number Shot Shot and Love Is Better Than A Warm Trombone. It was a fantastic setlist drawn from across their career. Personal highlights included the beautiful Free To Run, We Haven't Turned Around and an amazing extended version of How We Operate.

During the course of the gig the band often swapped instruments - for example, guitarists Ben Ottewell and Ian Ball would join Dajon Everett on his percussion or play Tom Gray's keyboards while Tom plays guitar. Ben, Ian and Tom share vocal duties - Ben and Ian often performing in a more insular way while Tom is happy to conduct the crowd. The combination of personalities and the lack of one single "lead singer" makes it feel like more of a group effort, and gives a wonderful balance of fun with the amazing technical abilities of all 6 members.

There was probably only one lowlight - some drunk bloke singing very loudly and very out-of-tune in my ear during the quiet instrumental section of Charley Patton Songs. Otherwise the crowd were friendly and incredibly loud - the roar of appreciation at the end was deafening! Enforcing the smoking ban obviously meant more interference from security than usual, but it didn't detract too much from the performance (and it was fantastic to come out of a gig NOT stinking of smoke!). The sound quality was excellent, and I can fully understand why Barrowlands has been voted the second best venue in the world by bands.

The main set finished with the manic Whippin' Piccadilly, and the encores were three more classics from the first two albums, finishing with one of my personal favourites Devil Will Ride. And it was all over, far too soon. I could watch Gomez play for hours and not get bored. They are possibly the best live band on the planet at the moment, criminally ignored here in their home country. Go see.

Setlist
California
Shot Shot
Love Is Better Than A Warm Trombone
See The World
Hamoa Beach
Free To Run
Blue Moon Rising
Notice
Get Myself Arrested
How We Operate
Ruff Stuff
Ping One Down
Silence
Charley Patton Songs
Girlshapedlovedrug
We Haven't Turned Around
Whippin' Piccadilly
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Make No Sound
Fill My Cup
Devil Will Ride