Following the terrific gig by CAST the previous night at The Glasgow Garage I was feeling slightly jaded and this gig by the Inspiral Carpets provided the perfect tonic for my somewhat tired soul. Back in the early nineties the Inspiral Carpets were one of my favourite bands and I still treasure my blurred memories from their Beast Inside concert at the SECC. In recent years original singer Stephen Holt has returned to the fold and with a critically acclaimed album released earlier in the year, this was a gig I was determined to catch.
Arriving at the venue just after 8.00 pm proved a little too late to catch support act The Blossoms however this was quickly forgotten when Gigslutz Award Winners Inspiral Carpets took to the stage a short time later. With a near packed ABC the Inspirals took to the stage and were immediately greeted with chants of “Moo, Moo” a phrase that has been synomonous with the band since the release of their trademark Cow T-shirts back in the day. ‘Monochrome’ from the new album opened the set before technical problems with Clint boon’s keyboard and samples halted proceedings. If truth be told, Clint was not the only one experiencing problems as I struggled to get to grips with the high stage and intense lighting as I attempted to snap a few photos.
With the crowd chanting “Boon Army” the band returned to the stage with their classic ‘Joe’. For me the band had lost none of their chemistry and with Stephen slotting back into the vocals the gig was sounding every bit as good as the one I attended back in the early nineties at the Barrowland. ‘Two Worlds Collide’ and ‘She Comes In The Fall’ featured early in the set and got the beer fuelled Friday crowd in full voice. Hearing ‘She Comes In The Fall’ live after all these years took me back to my teenage years and despite being in the pitt I let out a few moos of my own.
Debut album Life proved a popular source of material with ‘This Is How It Feels’ and the haunting ‘Sackville’ also getting a run out. ‘This is How It Feels’ is for me one of those songs that defines the 90s in Britain and gave me goose-bumps as the band belted it out. ‘Spitfire’ from new album has been played heavily in recent months in the Mills camp and sounded great live with Stephen nailing it. ‘Move’ and ‘Find Out Why’ continued to ensure the set was balanced between old and new. ‘Find Out Why’ remains one of my favourite Inspirals tracks with Clint sounding immense throughout this intense and lightning quick song.
‘Calling Out To You’ and ‘Human Shield’ featured from the new album before the set was brought to a surging finale with ‘Dragging Me Down’ and ‘Saturn 5’. For me the only slight downside was the lack of material from The Beast Inside as I would have absolutely loved to have heard ‘Grip’, ‘Caravan’ or album title track. All things aside, this was only my own view and judging by the cheering, moo chants and repeated crowd chorus of “Boon Army” everyone appeared to have enjoyed the gig.
As their recent Gigslutz Award would suggest the Inspiral Carpets are back to their very best and their hard, fast infused sound continues to have a place in entertaining both new and old fans. Welcome back Inspiral Carpets… Moo!
Bazza Mills
@bazzamills
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