It's a history: Colin MacIntyre in full swing Pic: Malcolm McCurrach
Like all great Scottish songwriters, Colin MacIntyre can write you a song to sing on your way home from the pub (the drunker the better) and a song to make you homesick for Scotland (even if you’ve only strayed as far as Newcastle).
“Its great to be back in Glasgow as Mull Historical Society”, he told the audience at the O2 ABC at the start of their Celtic Connections gig this week. It’s a given that he means it as MHS gigs in Glasgow have been thin on the ground in recent months.
Always one to enjoy the banter with the crowd, Colin spoke about his student days in Glasgow when he worked for BT at Directory Enquiries but instead spent his days writing songs.
The opening number Public Service Announcement was technically excellent, but surprisingly lacked the emotional warmth that crowns so much of his work. The crowd were initially restrained in their appreciation, until the band launched into the more familiar Peculiar from the This is Hope album. This crowd of well educated music appreciators took a while to warm up and remember it’s not really a society meeting, but Friday night in Glasgow.
It took an enthusiastic rendition of Animal Cannabus (sic) to get the crowd dancing. This upbeat offering comes from the 2001 album Loss, inspired by his dad’s death and dedicated to his mum. Loss is an emotionally charged album, at times melancholy, but ultimately uplifting.
MacIntyre kept the crowd on side with Can You Let Her Know It's Over from the latest Mull Historical Society album, City Awakenings. It comes on the 10th anniversary of Loss. Produced by the Grammy-winning Dom Morley it is his tribute to Glasgow, London and New York - the three cities which have most influenced this islander.
Colin regaled a tale of being five-years-old and going to Oban and being amazed at the size of that great town. It seems a long way from Tobermory to New York, London and Glasgow, a fact reflected in Thameslink with its hypnotic refrain "move ahead boy", about Scots arriving in London.
Other crowd-pleasing favourites Foldout City and The Lights, had the crowd singing along, appreciating the quality of both songwriting and lyrics.
A highlight of the gig was Five More Minutes from the album Us– the ABC choir sang the song accompanied by Colin on acoustic guitar, before he took it up and raised it several notches.
Des Rowan, a MHS fan from Glasgow’s southside said: “I always come out to support Celtic Connections as I know I’ll enjoy the music. I really connected with the early Mull Historical Society releases because of their social commentary.”
Watching Xanadu with its spangly pseudo-seventies electronica sound kept the crowd moving and Barcode Bypass brought even the most restrained foot-tappers to the front to party.
You Can Get Better is a catchy and optimistic tune which once again had the crowd in great voice.
The only fitting close for the show was the eponymous Mull Historical Society. I can now count myself a fully paid-up member of the Mull Historical Society having fully participated in the meeting. Let’s hope the next meeting of the Society is scheduled sooner, rather than later.
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