This Rock Goddess

 I've been to Glasgow again; Jill Lorean at the Hug & Pint was even better than Darvel v Trananet -:

Scottish alternative music in the West End of Glasgow. Scottish non-league football in darkest Ayrshire. These are about the only things that could tear me away from my beloved Tynemouth Cricket Club on a Saturday in summer. Consequently, despite my erroneous belief it was the Whitsuntide Bank Holiday weekend (cancelled in favour of 2 days of obsequious forelock-tugging, ass-kissing and base toadying to the unelected Windsor dynasty), news that the launch of Jill Lorean’s incredible debut album, This Rock, at The Hug & Pint on Great Western Road could be combined with a trip to the Lowland League promotion play-off between Darvel and Tranent, sent me scrolling through www.thetraineline.com  and www.bookings.com.

I secured a reasonably priced seat on the 08.49 from Central Station, arriving at Queen Street, on a jammed train from Waverley, at 11.37. A pleasurable wander down Sauciehall Street to #904 saw me at The Sandyford Hotel. Too early to book in, I dropped the bags and took a quick tour round Finneston, which seems to be the new Byres Road; a pleasant place where you can almost afford to eat and drink.  I didn’t though as my work pal Kenny, who accompanied me on my last Ayrshire odyssey to Auchinleck and Kilmarnock back in January, showed up to chauffeur me back in time to Darvel.

Initially, we took a detour to Kilmarnock, to enable Kenny to pick up his Scottish Junior Cup final ticket; his team Auchinleck Talbot are playing Yoker on the first Saturday in June at Rugby Park. Brief secured, we took a short drive down the road and arrived in Darvel, a prim and proper sort of place that seemed, on the surface at least, not to be the sort of location to discuss the intricacies of late 17^th century Irish history, unlike so many other settlements in the Ayrshire and Lanarkshire area, just in time for kick off.

Darvel play at Recreation Park, which is accessed down a bank off the main street. Over recent years, the significant investment that has been ploughed into the club by ambitious owner John Gall has seen them rise from the Ayrshire and District League, which they won back in 2017, to the cusp of the Lowland League. This season, Darvel came to prominence courtesy of a decent run in the Scottish Cup, which caused a fixture pile-up, exacerbated by Recreation Park’s position at the bottom of a hill on the river bank, resulting in endless postponements for waterlogging. However, despite playing on average twice a week to catch up, they eventually overhauled Auchinleck to win the West of Scotland Premier Division title.

Ridiculously, or so it appears, this achievement did not grant them immediate promotion to the Lowland League. Instead they were required to participate in a three-way play-off with East of Scotland Champions Darvel and, ostensibly, South of Scotland League winners St Cuthbert Wanderers from Kirkcudbright. Obviously, the sparse population in Dumfries, Galloway, Wigtonshire and other such settlements, means St Cuthbert Wanderers were unlikely to be competitive; so it proved as Tranent battered them 7-1 and Darvel Reserves cantered to a 3-0 win. Hence, the authorities decided goal difference would be dispensed with and in the event of a draw, a penalty shoot-out would be required to decide on the winners. That, however, never remotely looked like being required.

On an immaculate playing surface, Darvel sparked into life from the off and showed a determination to win the game early. Sadly for them, the sheer number of games in their heavy legs caught up with them and the momentum swung quickly and decisively. Tranent simply picked them off with a goal in either half. The quality of the play was pleasant on the eye, as both sides sought to play football on the deck, in a contest officiated by the first bearded official I’ve ever seen take charge of a Scottish game. The game attracted a decent crowd of approximately 600, allowing me to catch up with Chris Sanderson, Dave Stoker and Davie from Cowdenbeath; always a pleasure gents…

Kenny, who was amused to see an Ayrshire rival fall at the final hurdle, whisked me back to Glasgow, passing some intriguing sights on the way, such as the former mining village of Moscow and the home of 1-time Scottish Champions Glasgow Rangers (Est 2013). A quick snooze and a stressful, counter-intuitive walk through Kelvingrove Park brought us to Great Western Road and one of my favourite pubs in the city, The Inn Deep. I’m delighted to report it is unchanged and still as fabulous as on my last visit in 2014. The Joker IPA was, of course, utterly immaculate; for those who still harbour prejudice about the quality of Scottish beer, I advise you to get on this marvel from Alloa.

The Hug & Pint is a short walk from Inn Deep and we arrived in plenty of time, though not early enough to eat, alas. Instead, we concentrated on the music and, having somehow managed to miss opening act Raveloe, which I’m still cursing myself for, I got in position for the absolutely fascinating Ali Sha Sha; a beguiling combination of voices, guitar, theremin and occasionally, cello. They are the kind of act that makes me love Glasgow so much; only the inclusivity of a city that has gender neutral toilets at gigs and an absolute intolerance of macho posturing in creative spaces, could breed such fascinating projects. All the very best to them; my ears will remain open.

Now to the headliners, Peter Kelly, Andy Monaghan and Jill O’Sullivan comprise Jill Lorean. They have released 16 songs on the Not Your First EP and This Rock album, playing 11 of them tonight, though sadly not two of my particular favourites “Your Younger Self” and “Axe to Grind,” but were an absolute inspiration. A joy to see and hear. I’ve followed wonderful Jill ever since I saw her playing bass with Alex Nielson and Alasdair Roberts in the superb Bonnie “Prince” Billy tribute project Three Queens in Mourning back in October 2018. If you don’t know their product, check it out, especially for Jill’s absolutely heart-breaking version of “New Partner” that always brings a tear to my eye.

Basically Jill Lorean are the most talented, driven and affecting power trio I can think of on earth these days. Peter and Andy’s relentless, punishing rhythm detail affords the chance for Jill to whoop, skirl, screech and hammer out on point lyrics and the craziest violin, the most perfect you’d heard since Scarlet Rivera on Dylan’s Desire or Vicky Aspinall in The Raincoats. Check out “The Breaking Down” or “Black Dog” that bookended the set and I dare you to tell me I’m wrong. And don’t forget about Jill on guitar; she hammers out those barre chords like Patti Smith, Lesley Woods and PJ Harvey rolled into one devastatingly talented, demonic force of nature. However, don’t dare think they are all about in your face confrontation; there’s plenty of gentle joy to be found, especially in the euphoric, spellbinding “Kneading,” which I suspect may be a tribute to Jill’s grandmother. It has the best bass runs I’ve heard in decades as well as a narrative lyric that should be a mini series.

After the 11 songs, the gig ended. No encore. Just thunderous, spontaneous applause and outpourings of love for an incredible talent. It’s almost impossible to explain just how glad I was to be there and how flattered, honoured, what have you, to chat to Jill afterwards. I hope they become enormous megastars. This band, this album, this show, This Rock; this was perfection. Roll on September 18^th and GY!BE at the Barras, with football (TBC) the day before.