Special acoustic set gets up close and personal with View frontman
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REVIEW: An Intimate Audience With Kyle Falconer
Upstairs, The Gellions, Inverness
Sunday, October 8
"What else is there to do on a rainy afternoon in Inverness?" Kyle Falconer’s friend Dovv asked the 150-strong crowd on Sunday at Upstairs, there to see The View frontman’s ‘intimate audience’ of music and chat.
The rain had cancelled the gig the night before in Lochgoilhead. The one due to follow Inverness had to be moved as the Aviemore venue was flooded out.
But in Upstairs above The Gellions on Sunday afternoon, the atmosphere was cosy. The buzzy crowd were real fans who asked knowing questions in the QnA section. And as Kyle asked for suggestions for songs to play, their random requests led to a spontaneous set of songs ranging across the Dundonian’s ever-growing catalogue.
Inverness singer songwriter The Chosen Lonely (Stuart Barclay) started with the song Charlton Lane. From the first few notes, there was a hush in the room as his commanding, clear vocals kicked in.
“It’s nice playing in a new place – much-needed in the area,” he said afterwards, referring to the venue diversifying into gigs alongside its usual dance music nights.
Steven’s set, with his own melody-laden indie-pop songs – as well as a cover of The Libertines’ Can’t Stand Me Now to finish – included his newly-released single Rollercoaster – starting off all bassy energy then delivering quirky lyrics “… If you are feeling down you are in the wrong town, baby”.
Hugh ‘Winnie’ Winton followed, playing deftly-edited versions of his band The Side’s post-Britpop anthems and a neatly-personalised cover of Crowded House’s Fall At Your Feet. Introducing it, he namechecked master songwriter Neil Finn, and reminded the room with a passionate performance just what was so great about the song.
Kyle Falconer’s friend Dovv offered a few songs too as the countdown to star turn Falconer’s appearance extended. But it was a pleasure to hear Dovv’s intense, full-powered vocal on songs like his opener Hold Fast, a song to soundtrack a revolution, with lyrics: ‘We scream, we shout, and the world can’t put us down, hold fast to one another we can’t be put down’. Unfortunately, the big finish to the set broke some strings on the guitar Kyle was set to use in his songs. So while it went off to be restrung, Kyle and his friend Michael Ward got stuck into the QnA, Michael asking questions before the audience got their turn.
From how he discovered songs and songwriting as a child to next-up projects, Kyle was frank and funny. He revealed the musical No Love Songs – written by his fiancée Laura Wilde, with Kyle’s music – might be headed for America next year. And that a new album from The View was currently underway.
And asked which of The View albums was his favourite to record, Kyle came up with Which Bitch?. But he also said he’d enjoyed doing the latest one [Exorcism Of Youth].
“It was in Spain with Youth [producer] and it was being appreciative of people’s work on the album.”
Michael asked about how songwriting started as a youngster, Kyle painted a picture of writing songs with a couple of bottles of Hooch, or settling down in a space he liked – his mum’s bed.
He was obsessed by the Beatles.
Later Michael revealed that at parties, he’d tell people to go up to Kyle and say the Beatles were sh*t then sit back and watch.
Other music that inspired the young Kyle was Michael Jackson’s Man In The Mirror – he got the album [History: Past, Present And Future Book 1] when he was eight or nine on tape, then he discovered Eminem. But his brother said he shouldn’t be listening to that and gave him a CD of the Beatles’ song Eight Days A Week and it made him want to play music, but he didn’t have a guitar. He then heard Strawberry Fields and remembers thinking “I just got the Beatles!”
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Asked about current music influences, Kyle said he still listened to the Beatles every day, but he instantly added The Killers.
“People don’t like The Killers or think they are sh*t,” he marvelled.
“They are!” someone yelled from the crowd.
“Well keep your opinion to yourself!” Kyle grinned.
Song requests were shouted out by the crowd and from Which Bitch? Kyle sang one of the best songs on that album Realisation with its ‘World domination makes me feel small’ line, the audience singing along.
Michael got Kyle talking about the songwriting camps the two have been setting up in Spain, talking about trying to get the place ready to open and working in 45 degree heat while having their five kids around too.
A timeline of songs from the career so far were packed into Kyle's short set, many coming as requests from the audience. From his first solo album No Thank You, he told us song Kelly was about a trans friend from rehab, while Lily Anne, Kyle explained, was his ‘letter to America’ about being on the beach in LA when he finally got to go to the States after six years.
Asked about people dead or alive he would want to spend time with, he came up with Paul McCartney and Shania Twain.
Grace and Best Lasts Forever from Bread and Circuses were highspots, before it went back to The View's earliest days with Same Jeans and a big finish with everyone singing along after Kyle eventually decided on – Superstar Tradesman.
"I don't want money, I want a thing called happiness/ I don't want cash, you know, I'd quite like memories..." the lyrics go.
The event format meant we got to delve into plenty of memories – good and bad and we found out more about the real Kyle behind the headlines.
And though it would have been great to have even more time with him, this was a special event just the way it was.
Another of the Intimate Audience With Kyle Falconer events runs in Upstairs on October 19. It’s sold out, but there’s a waiting list for returns HERE: Get Steven Barclay/The Chosen Lonely’s new single Rollercoaster HERE: It’s also lead track on a three-song EP on limited edition cassette. Winnie will be playing with The Side at the Tooth & Claw, Inverness, on Friday, December 22, on a bill with This Machine and Dashh. Find Dovv: Facebook @Dovvmusic
