LIVE: Simon & Oscar – Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline 29.10.15

Following up on three sell-out nights at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall earlier this year, Simon Fowler and Oscar Harrison from Ocean Colour Scene brought their current tour to Dunfermline’s atmospheric Carnegie Hall.

Glasgow artist and former Ronelles front-man/guitarist Raymond Meade provided support and entertained the near capacity crowd with stand-outs from his set including ‘Ghosts’ and ‘Radio Anna’ from his debut solo album Fables And Follies. Pleasingly ‘Come Undone’ and ‘Sent Home Under Sirens’ from his current album Whydolise?, released earlier this year, received deserved applause and shouts of approval from the crowd. Produced by Owen Morris, the terrific Whydolise? features the likes of Steve Cradock, Justin Currie and Bobby Keys – you will be hard pressed to find a better album from an unsigned artist.

Indeed 2015 has proved to be something of a very good year for Raymond with him standing in for Steve Cradock on guitar for a few dates (when Steve was touring with Paul Weller) and then recently accepting the invitation to join OCS as their new bass player. Sharing this news with the crowd, Raymond gets his biggest cheer of the night from Scottish fans, no doubt eager for full band dates in 2016 but also pleased that the full band line-up now includes a Scotsman.
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With ten studio albums under their belt and a string of top 10 singles in their armoury, Simon Fowler and Oscar Harrison need little in terms of introduction. With ‘The Riverboat Song’ playing over the PA and accompanied by his acoustic guitar, OCS front-man and vocalist Simon takes to the stage and is greeted by loud cheers from the expectant crowd.

With Oscar (OCS drummer) on grand piano the duo waste little time lighting up the Kingdom of Fife with fan favourites including ‘Foxy’s Folk Faced’, ‘Mechanical Wonder’ and ‘Lining Your Pockets’ all featuring early in the set. As always, the vocal delivery of Simon impresses with the intimate venue also being a perfect match for the beautiful sound of the piano. ‘Profit In Peace’ ramps up the crowd and ensures a mass sing-along as chants of “we don’t wanna fight no more” echo throughout the old building.

Between tracks a relaxed Simon shares some insight into the songs and recalls the time when the band recorded ‘It’s A Beautiful Thing’ with female vocalist PP Arnold, with Simon revealing B-side ‘Mariners Way’ was inspired by the time the band spent at her house of the same name. ‘Better Day’, ‘Travellers Tune’ and ‘The Circle’ bring the set to a close, and with Raymond Meade also joining the duo on stage the finale is somewhat rousing. With chants of “OCS, OCS”, Simon returns to the stage to give a brief rendition of “Robin Hood riding through the glen” before delighting the crowd with the poignant OCS live staple ‘Robin Hood’. ‘The Day We Caught The Train’ eventually brings the curtain down on another memorable night.

Bazza Mills
@bazzamills

Bazza Mills
G'day my name is Bazza Mills! Whilst my wife watches reality TV shows, I enjoy listening to music, going to gigs and taking some photos. Growing up between Scotland and Australia exposed me to a variety of music and my tastes range from The Stone Roses to Guns N Roses. Typically, I love most things guitar based and have a love for live music and photography!