By Lesley Macdonald
It’s been about 20 years since I was last in the QMU. It’s a strange wee venue, tucked in the back corner at the end of a residential side street. After negotiating the platform game like roadwork barriers and walkways blocking it from view it’s grey concrete façade looms into view. Aside from a couple of massive tour buses, it looks exactly the same as I remember, with a set of stairs leading you towards a door staff that look like they mean business…well this is Glasgow, right? It’s got a bit of a reputation? Bollocks. Everyone’s lovely, they just look mean…
Fresh from interviewing CJ from the Wildhearts, I’m trying to calm my adrenaline spike with beer. It’s only right – it’s the student union after all. Barely 5.30pm and the event hall is pretty empty so it feels weird sitting quietly on the back seats chatting to a particularly lovely member of the events staff and watching the odd band member wander around. Odd as in one or two, not odd as in… never mind. Danny Wildheart pops past to speak to a man to my right who I met when I came in. He had introduced himself as Danny’s family. In response to my raised eyebrow, he said “well he’s like family, always so good to us” and it seems like he really is treated well as Danny spends a good 15 minutes there.
Having never seen American openers CKY before, I was keen to see what they had to offer. Though there’s now just the two of them, drummer Jess Margera and a very hairy vocalist/guitarist Chad Ginsburg, they sure make a lot of noise. Chad’s stage presence is good and he makes a decent effort to get the early doors people wound up. At first it seems it’s just not going to happen at this time of night but CKY are at their best when they play off each other face to face and they manage to rouse some appreciation. There are some impressive moments with the highlight of the set being the rhythmic ‘96 Quite Bitter Beings’.
There’s a fair gap in between the first two bands and I wander out towards the foyer. I see Danny wandering about chatting to fans and go up to say Hi. When I saw him 20 years ago in Edinburgh, I was in the ‘Fishing for Luckies’ fanclub. I remember at one gig he gave me his plectrum off the stage and I never forgot about that. Acknowledging a lot has gone on since then he says “I lost my bloody leg”. Not sure how to respond I tell him “I know but it’s not stopping you is it?” He laughs, “Not at all, you’ve got to get on with it haven’t you?” Danny is surprisingly down to earth and easy to talk to and I’ve seen him spend a lot of time with the fans from the start of the night.
Next on stage are Swedish sleaze rockers Backyard Babies who are joint headliners alongside The Wildhearts for this tour. Formed around the same time as as them in the late 80’s, their experience is clear as they launch into a tight set bursting with energy and intensity. They’re certainly good at putting on a show, with frontman Nicke Borg captivating to watch, but guitarist Dregen is another level at commanding attention, throwing shapes the whole set. On stage for a long time, they drip confidence as they keep eyes and ears on them throughout, a skill they’ve probably honed after touring with the likes of AC/DC, Velvet Revolver and Alice Cooper. Their efforts are appreciated, a lot of the crowd are here for them.
Thirty years in the making themselves, if in slightly different variations, by the time classic Wildhearts line-up of Rich Battersby, CJ, Danny and Ginger hit the stage its jumping in the QMU. From the back to the front and to either side, there’s even folk up the back on the balcony. They’re clearly the main event. I start to work my way into the crowd. What a great mix of people, everyone is upbeat and chatty, clearly excited to see a band who they know can rip it up in their live performances. Someone shows me their Wildhearts pants which say ‘The Fudging Wildhearts’ and are emblazoned with love hearts for all four band members. I’m sure they’ll love them and I really hope she slings them at the stage. Unfortunately, I don’t stick around to find out as I head down to the front.
The set opens with ‘Everlone’ from 1993’s classic album ‘Earth Vs the Wildhearts’. It’s a song that immediately has everyone singing along with its scowling opening line “Life has teeth and bites the feeding open hand, you wanna be in a band?” The energy that these four have is amazing to see after all these years and as the set goes on you recognise that they honestly can put bands of half their age to shame. Ginger is on good form, announcing all other tour dates were the warmups for ‘The fucking loudest date on the tour’ before launching into one of the gritty new songs from their ‘Renaissance Men’ album, ‘Diagnosis’. ‘Diagnosis’ is a relatable song with everyone and their granny the owner of some dubious imposed label these days. The problem is that once you have that label, it’s hard to shake and Ginger and the Wildhearts, with a history of speaking honestly about mental health and drug addiction, rip the medical profession a new one with this track.
Back to 2002 for the rhythmic ‘Vanilla Radio’, guaranteed to get the crowd up and jumping – and it does – lots of hands in the air and lots of energy for this one. After the screamalong ‘My Baby is a Headfuck’, another newbie ‘Let ‘Em Go’ urges you not to let the shit hang around in your life. It sounds like a fucking fantastic idea. The rest of the set is peppered with other classics like ‘TV Tan’ and ‘Sick of Drugs’, effortlessly blended into the new, in your face tracks such as ‘Dislocated’ and ‘My Kind of Movie’. Though it seems to all pass so quickly, you’re left knowing that the Wildhearts are no less impressive than ever and this reminds you how underrated they have always been.
At some point the pants hit the stage and CJ gives them a good sniff. .. I’m sure he told me that such behaviour doesn’t happen anymore. He chucks them back into the crowd and they get thrown straight back. Ginger hangs them off his mic stand. Rock n’ Roll eh? The band bow out with ‘I Wanna Go Where The People Go’ from the album ‘Phuq’. I remember my copy had a purple ‘velvet’ slip sleeve. The fact that ‘Caffeine Bomb’ isn’t here could be a disappointment for some, but from my point of view there are no disappointments here. I’m glad I came back to see them live again. Each and every track played tonight will be fondly remembered and by their loyal fan base and I’m sure, after this live performance, they’ll have some new fans too.
- PHOTO CREDIT: All photos taken at The Limelight, Belfast. © The Dark Queen/Über Rock. You can view our full gallery of photographs HERE.
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