Broadcast, Glasgow
Oct 26th, 2022
There was a good atmosphere in the Broadcast venue in Glasgow’s Sauchiehall St, it’s a smaller venue in the basement and is host to new music every week or so. The night’s set up was of three acts first up was Cyrano who lit up the room with some fresh coloured lighting, a voice and a keyboard.
He played for about a half hour to a warm reception and enthusiastic applause. It was good to once again experience live music in all its aspects and tune changes. Second up was the magical Laura Misch who is an amazingly successful song writer using her talents of jazz in particular. For this evening she teamed up with a harp and a guitar sounding off her beautiful vocal and her skills on the Saxophone.
And once we were warmed up and had moved closer and closer to the stage on came the prolific Westerman who is celebrating life since his 2020 studio album having begun as a writer when he was in his twenties in London. His journey has taken him from open humble open mic nights, where he outshone much of the talent there, to this band that were made of keyboard, electric bass, guitar and thumping drums.
There was no aggression to the sounds they played but he was free with his lyrics, unafraid to strike topics or talk about love; his love, our love, mixing gentle guitar liken to Joni Mitchell or some other artist who played as softly as they could; but backed it with that drum that really mesmerised me even as I stood I went in and out of some kind of meditation or hypnosis.
The Westerman front man was seated for the show; I thought this was a very nice touch, a little difference that helped the general mood of the gracious audience, but it had come about because he had hurt his leg. Sometimes these things happen for a reason, something like he was supposed to be sitting and giving that extra peek into the band, their music and their act.
Nicely fitted into his songs was a relaxed emotion, a care and confidence in the power of music to set you free spoken of in the lyrics and the mellow attitude! Coming forward like this was appreciated and very much enjoyed. So many genres were fused by the band and shaped into a character up for it and fit for the stage.
Their 2020 album ‘Your Hero is not dead’ had come out with folk music being put on fire, his sultry tones confidently strove into the room and admirably led the music with octaves high and low. Very heartfelt, peacefully finding their way through issues past and present and journeys taken far and wide, folk music with a killer beat in a swirl of energy enjoyed by all.
Daniel Donnelly
Mumble Music 