By Monk
If you don’t know the name Duncan Reid then you do indeed have only yourself to blame, either for living in isolation for a lot longer than the rest of us or failing to read your favourite website for the past decade. After all, we are talking about a former member of one of the most respected power pop bands in the entire damn Überverse – that’s The Boys, in case you’re wondering – and subsequently the producer of four increasingly fine solo albums… well, in conjunction with his Big Heads, a group of musicians whom I’m reliably informed don’t live up to their names, as they’re a rather modest bunch, at least outside of their ability to consistently produce wonderfully crafted rock ‘n’ roll songs (oh, and their frontman’s assertion that they are “the world’s best-looking power pop band!)… In fact, the only question you should be asking yourself is “where the feck is Akkurat?”
Well, in fact, it’s a rock club in the darkened heart of Stockholm – and, by all accounts, a damn fine one – where, back in May 2018, Mr Reid and co. decided that it would be a rather spiffing idea to play a gig (the last one of the tour) on the same night that Sweden were playing Switzerland in ice hockey’s World Cup Final… talk about a recipe for the equivalent of performing to two men and a deaf dog… As it turned out, there’s one thing Swedes love more than the sight of a bunch of over-grown MMA wannabes chasing a piece of plastic around an ice rink – and that is a damn good rock ‘n’ roll show… which is exactly what DR&TBH delivered, if the evidence of this recently unearthed recording is anything by which to judge…
Sympathetically mastered to capture the raw, sweaty energy of a live gig, you just have to close your eyes to imagine the packed crowd dancing and singing along to the 16 songs which the band ran through with little pause for breath (well, apart from a few typically tongue-in-cheek interjections from Duncan), massive smiles on their faces as they swilled gallon after gallon of what is allegedly one of the biggest beer selections of any club…
Yes, ‘Live At Akkurat’ is one of those party soundtracks that is the epitome of great rock ‘n’ roll – its ability to give us a bloody good time, no matter the distractions of the outside world. With that world starting to seemingly chart a path back to a point where such events once again become part of our normal lives, it’s also a timely reminder of the good times we’ve enjoyed in the past, and hopefully will do so again before not too long…
Incidentally, just in case you’re interested, Sweden also won the ice hockey (3-2 following overtime, I believe it’s called), so it was a win-win scenario all ‘round…
- ‘Live At Akkurat’ is released on 23 April. You can get your copy HERE.
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