Old friends, new bands – Saturday night good times

APRIL 27 | Upstairs, Inverness

DAYS after a special band gig at Upstairs, Inverness, another ­– totally different – night pulled people away from their at-home cocoons.

And Saturday had a rare, social feel as people packed into the venue drawn by curiosity and the urge to support local musician friends.

The return of a favourite city line-up – Chancers, combined with two early glimpses of ‘newer’ bands, Folk’d Up and The Dylan Tierney Band – had lured a crowd into the room for an upbeat dancing feel.

Greeting the audience at the door, the night’s main man, headliner Dylan, had added his own thoughtful touch. It crossed your mind that maybe it took some guts for him to be out front to greet all those who had turned up to see him play in the band format, instead of playing a nervous frontman backstage somewhere as he transformed from his solo singer songwriter guise.

But facing the fear head on might not surprise anyone who has witnessed the singer on Facebook pictures plunging into the icy-cold Loch Ness, in the style of global motivator Wim Hof!

Chancers presented an acoustic seated version of the band with Jake Bolt, Lauren Mackenzie and Mikey Duncan. Sadly, their drummer Callum Ford has moved on and the search for a new one continues. But in the meantime, it was good to see bassist Archie Stewart turning up too – playing in one of the night’s new bands.

Chancers’ first gig in a while brought out their best songs, commercial indie rock-pop at its best, including Still Here With You (the 2019 single), One Step Ahead and tarot-card break-up ballad 3 Of Swords. It was a short but sweet opening set, the band more laidback than usual in this acoustic form than the full-strength rampaging live presence they can be.

Early on Jake had greeted the arrival of bandmate Archie to the venue on this April night “Happy New Year!” as the crowd laughed at the belated good wishes.

“I’m not a very good friend! Jake laughed.

And it was a night of old friends. Faces from the past Inverness music world turned out – including a couple of former Jyrojets, guitarist from The Whiskys and the return of the bassist from Dingwall’s Cinematics.

But this night was also about pretty new line-ups getting their chance to showcase their sound.

Second band on, Folk’d Up were enjoying their second-ever gig with a puzzle at the heart of the sound. It effortlessly wooed the crowd with its Saturday night big sound. But was it folk? Or, something wider, with blues in there, plus a shitk*cking vibe rocking into … country? No, not really country. Early in singer Simon Wharton revealed: “We were a folk band till Fraser joined!” And Fraser McLean’s guitar was a definite presence, as was Chris Munro’s.

But there should be time enough to decide for yourselves. One set from this band and you can see them at open-air festivals, summer nights in tents and bars, a crowd dancing their hearts out to songs like singalong finisher – Good Times.

And the same is true for The Dylan Tierney Band, a dazzling line-up of musicianship bejewelling and celebrating Dylan’s voice and songs in a way that’s new.

Dylan’s lifelong evolution so far, from teenage social media star to mature songwriter and solo performer with guitar, morphs on. The band is a new way for audiences perhaps to get to know his thoughtful songs and relaxed but compelling vocal style.

He wore dark glasses for the start of a set that instantly hit its stride. But watching it all unfold, you somehow missed the moment he took the shades off. And songs the singer songwriter is known for from his two albums, such as Down By The Water and Brand New, showed off their new multi-layered gloss.

In Fighting For You – a new one? –  the arrangement left space to hear Ben Hesling’s guitar solo, and Ashley Mackay’s vocals spun around Dylan’s voice adding a new rich texture. Add keyboards weaving in from Kenna Ross… and Adam Goemans’ bass in a rock-solid rhythm section with drummer Marc McKie shifting up a gear in  a fast version of early song Old Misty Road, and this new band sounded fresh and exciting.

“I want to thank each and every one of you for coming out tonight,” Dylan had told the crowd two songs in.

Those there will now have pleasure as the year goes on of watching the three continuing band stories unfold in the rest of 2024. MC