Reef - Glasgow O2 ABC
Grizzly south-east funk rock returns.
The UK has waited a long time for this. It's seven years since Reef announced their split after five albums, worldwide tours, a number one single... it’s not a bad CV, and one that's brought them back together and onto the live circuit once again for a run of six UK gigs, starting here in Glasgow’s excellent O2 ABC.
An extremely sparse crowd is what greats support act Matthew P and his band. The Suffolk based singer songwriter does his best with his Jack Johnson-esque surf anthems, but he’s really just not suited to this gig and crowd.
Come 8.30pm, the venue has swelled to near capacity as Dom, Jack, Kenwyn and Gary take to the stage to a suitably loud welcome and burst straight into ‘Feed Me’ from 1995 debut ‘Replenish’ before ‘Come Back Brighter’ reminds us exactly what we’ve missed in the last eight years. And its further tracks from number one album ‘Glow’ which unsurprisingly receive the most welcome tonight. ‘Lately Stomping’, ‘Summer’s In Bloom’ and of course, ‘Place Your Hands’, go down a treat with the drink-fuelled Saturday night crowd. The vast majority of tracks come from the first two records, with only a smattering of the better tracks from later albums.
‘Stone For Your Love’ is a definite highlight of the night, one of their most bluesy tracks with a real groove, and it's pulled off with aplomb. ‘Set The Record Straight’ and ‘Superhero’ from ‘The Getaway’ are also particular standouts, however its ‘Yer Old’, saved for the encore, which is by far the song of the night. The band keep crowd interaction to a minimum throughout the set, and aside from the odd thank you, they swiftly move from track to track letting the music and energy of performance do the talking. Jack Beasant, the giant hairy yeti of a bassist, stomps around with an authority befitting of his stature, whilst Kenwyn House and Gary Stringer are clearly completely absorbed in the rhythm and groove of the music. As the final chords of ‘End’ die down, the curfew has come and gone and the jubilant Scottish crowd make their off to sample more of Glasgow’s night life.
What’s of particular note tonight is that despite most songs being over ten years old, none of them sound dated. In fact, they still sound totally relevant and up to date – a hallmark of good songwriting. Before their split, Reef were one of the UK’s best live bands, and on tonight’s evidence, they still are. Let’s hope they stick around for a while yet.
RSS Feed
