Second helpings...
The Big Dish, O2ABC, Glasgow, January 21st 2012

With a seemingly limitless pool of finely crafted, thoughtful and melodic pop songs, a strong reputation as a live act and a string of excellent reviews in the music press, it’s hardly surprising that Airdrie band The Big Dish were expected to make the breakthrough to big-time success.
Alas, that expectation was never realised and they quietly disbanded in 1991, having scarcely troubled the charts during their three album career.

Now, twenty-one years later, I joined the throng of people who stood in the queue outside Glasgow’s O2 ABC waiting expectantly for the band to break their long musical silence.

But was the weight of expectation so great and so unrealistic that nothing could live up to it?
The answer to that one was swiftly and emphatically delivered...

Kicking off with a clever, semi-acoustic re-working of ‘Prospect Street,’ the band shrugged off a few early nerves and proceeded to deliver a nineteen song set of uncommon quality, much to the delight of the capacity crowd.
A crowd which, incidentally, included fans who’d travelled from the USA, Europe and – as vocalist Steven Lindsay noted – Paisley. 

The set featured an almost equal number of songs from each of the band’s albums.
Six from 1986’s Swimmer, six more from 1988’s Creeping Up On Jesus and five from 1991’s Satellites. Even the earliest tracks sounded fresh more than two decades on, a tribute to canny songwriting and the band’s reluctance to pander to passing musical fashions.

It helped, of course, that the band were on fine form.
Steven Lindsay’s vocals, always one of the band’s strengths, have matured very nicely; lead guitarist Brian McFie’s playing was both technically strong and tasteful; keyboard player Allan Dumbreck tinkled the ivories with aplomb and the rhythm section of Raymond Docherty on bass and drummer Ross McFarlane was as tight as you could wish for.
The backing vocals, supplied by Messrs. McFie and Dumbreck, were also spot-on.

Picking out highlights from a consistently excellent set is no easy task.
My particular favourites, for a variety of reasons,  included ‘Swimmer,’ ‘Miss America,’ ‘Jealous,’ ‘Burn,’ ‘Shipwrecked’ and a lovely version of ‘Breakdown’ from Steven Lindsay’s first solo album, 2004’s Exit Music. 

The gig concluded with two encores – a stomping version of ‘Slide’ and a lively cover of Mott the Hoople’s classic ‘All The Young Dudes,’ which left a horde of not-so-young dudes and dudettes wanting more. 

The original intention that the ABC gig be a one-off reunion has already gone for a burton, as The Big Dish will be playing a live set at The Darvel Music Festival on Saturday, 5th May, 2012.
Tickets for what is always a well-attended Ayrshire festival are on sale now and, if the demand for tickets at the ABC gig is anything to go by, will sell out quickly.  

Beyond that, who knows?
For my two penn’orth, I’d simply say that in this age of disposable, brain rotting music and plastic wannabees there is a pressing need for bands like The Big Dish who can create tuneful, intelligent pop music of lasting effect.

And I know I’m not alone in thinking it would be a shame if they didn’t have another crack at it.

See you at Darvel.

David Milloy
January 2012


The Big Dish official website: http://thebigdish.org  

For further information on the 2012 Darvel Music Festival Weekend, the artists who will be performing and ticket purchasing options, please visit the website:  
http://www.darvelmusicfestival.org/