KELLY JONES BRINGS HIS BRAND NEW SOLO PROJECT ‘INEVITABLE INCREDIBLE’ TO GLASGOW FOR TWO SOLD-OUT INTIMATE SHOWS

★★★★★ (5/5)

KELLY JONES PERFORMING AT GLASGOW’S CITY HALLS
PHOTOCREDIT: CALUM BUCHAN

I had the pleasure last night of attending one of two shows Kelly Jones put on at the City Halls in Glasgow.

It was my first time at this venue, while it may not work for every artist, I was really impressed with it for this show. There was a level of intimacy between Kelly and the audience, which was really impressive, the organisation was impressive, the staff brilliant and, as venues go, I’d love to see more artists preform there.

I think if there was any debate at all about whether Kelly is one of our great national talents then the proud Welshman laid them to rest last night.

I’ve seen him perform with his main band before and was gutted to miss the Far From Saints tour but this was a different proposition altogether, a much more intimate show. Much of which had Kelly sitting at the piano he’d been given as a gift. What it did demonstrate is what a tremendous singer Kelly actually is. I’ve always known he can belt out a rock song, but this was different. There were times when his voice demonstrated a level of vulnerability I’d never heard before, there was an emotional element to his singing which was tremendous and all in all it was a wonderful performance.

Kelly played the whole of his new solo album to us, prefacing it with an explanation as to how it came to be, what caused him to write, where it was recorded etc, the details of which I won’t share in this review as you need to go see the rest of the tour to hear the man himself speak (assuming you can get tickets, he’s had to add extra shows such has been the demand).

His supporting band were stripped back to a minimum aside from a brilliant 4 strong string section (the leader of which, Fiona, also contributed a solo violin performance and some backing vocals). The roadies joined in the percussion, everyone seemed to swap instruments on a regular basis and, all in all, it was a demonstration of impeccable musicality.

Having played the whole of his wonderful new solo album he then took a brief break and treated us to some choice other cuts from his back catalogue. This being Glasgow there was of course a fair degree of audience interaction with some women to my right making it very clear what their feelings about Kelly were. This did eventually result in the audience starting to interact with each other to the point Kelly couldn’t start singing one song as he was struggling to contain his laughter. It was funny for a while but eventually became irritating, some people need to know when to stop!

The finale was an excellent rendition of Maybe Tomorrow, just Kelly, a guitar and a room full or people who joined in a community sing song. Kelly told us he’s only starting to realise what the song is actually about. To me, last night, it felt like a cathartic experience with an element of longing for a better day tomorrow, I’d love to know what he thinks it’s about!

One unusual thing to mention is the audience were not allowed phone use in the venue. We were all asked to put out phones in plastic bags that were provided to us. Kelly explained he wanted us in the moment, that there was enough going on in the world and that we should treat the show as a break from that. Aside from one annoying woman in the middle of the audience who totally ignored Kelly’s request (who was eventually spoken to be venue staff, next time take the hint and don’t be so annoying) the overwhelming majority of those attending complied, and you know what, it added to the experience, it was great to be at a gig where half the people weren’t experiencing it through their phones, when every new song didn’t prompt a mass raising of phones and where it felt like everyone just focussed on the here and now, the music and the vibe of being there. Personally, I loved it as an idea and hope more artists do it. I’d be happy to comply again.