PRIMAL SCREAM // QUEEN'S PARK, GLASGOW
Primal Scream displayed Screamadelica in full glory with two night’s in Bobby Gillespie’s old stomping ground.
★★★★☆ (4.5/5)
PRIMAL SCREAM // QUEEN’S PARK, GLASGOW - 01.07.2022
PHOTOCREDIT: BAZZA MILLS
Screamadelica is an album that is considered an all-time great. With this tour, the Primal Scream mania could not be contained to just one night in Glasgow and it was quickly realised after speedy sales of their Friday night show that another set was needed to celebrate this magnificent work. Just over 3 decades after the release, Screamadelica is Primal Scream’s biggest hitter. It has become a timeless, neo-pschedelica album where the band’s alternative rock was transformed into dance anthems so hypnotic that to this day stand out as cutting edge. The work has an almost completely universal appeal that is enjoyed by those who were already deep in the dance scene at the release and by those who had not yet been conceived in 1991.
With a change of first support to the Friday, Saturday night featured Lonelady as the first act to warm up the hearty crowd flocking into Queen’s Park. The Manchurian soloist was poignant and punchy in her eclectic tracks. Combining synth with heavy guitar, Lonelady (A.K.A Julie Campbell) is a post-punk tornado and it is all so clear that she has an incredible talent. Campbell may not have been able to grasp the scale of her crowd as a lot of fans remained seated outside the tent – soaking in the last of the day’s sun over gathering under the tent’s cover at this early on point in the evening – but she got the masses moving and smiling and was an excellent starter to the night’s feast.
Next on for the night was Waltz Disco. This Scottish group, who met while studying at the university of Glasgow, have started to carve their name deeply into the new-era indie scene. It was clear from the confidence in their Saturday night set that they are no shrinking violets. With a sound that combines all the freedom and flare of Talking Heads with the shuddering chills of Echo and the Bunnymen, Waltz Disco displayed their modern take on 80’s and 90’s pop punk. On stage they had energy and mystic while keeping an allure of privacy – as if they were just scratching the surface of what they can do.
The tented setting had started to fill up quickly and attendees were ready to let loose. Fittingly, the Primal Scream came on to the stage with the ode to alcohol and the very city itself ‘I Belong to Glasgow’ blasting out. Bobby Gillespie dawned a full on Screamdelica print suit and the 61-year-old looked the spitting image of his 30-year younger self.
The band played their notorious album for the main set but with reworkings of their great hits that built hype up immensely. As the crowd sung their hearts out and danced like it was the end of the world, an onlooker would be forgiven for thinking they had stumbled across a rave. The event was a party, and it was impossible not to get lost in the elation.
The uplifting Come Together featured a gospel choir that could barely complete with the volume of the singing fans. Later in the night, as the band began their encore, Gillespie introduced Mani. The former Stone Roses bassist who is iconic for his contribution to the Madchester motions. Following the incredible display of the Screamadelica, the group finish with some of there other most beloved tracks including Jailbird and Rocks.
A week prior to their Glasgow shows, Primal Scream took to Worthy Farm to play Glastonbury. However, seeing them where Gillespie spent his youth meant for a night with a particularly special warmth weaved in with the shaking dance tracks. Scream shined and it was a night to remember – for those who stayed compos mentis enough anyway.
REVIEW BY // KATRIN LAMONT
PHOTOS BY // BAZZA MILLS
SETLIST:
QUEEN’S PARK, GLASGOW
MOVIN’ ON UP
SLIP INSIDE THE HOUSE - (13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS COVER)
DON’T FIGHT IT, FEEL IT.
COME TOGETHER
INNER FLIGHT
SCREAMADELICA
DAMAGED
I’M COMIN’ DOWN
HIGHER THAN THE SUN
SHINE LIKE STARS
ENCORE:
LOADED
JAILBIRD
COUNTY GIRL - (WITH GARY MOUNFIELD)
ROCKS - (WITH GARY MOUNFIELD)