1,100 BIG COUNTRY, Derailer, Swindon Level 3, Friday 14th September 2018

Another milestone reached, and in the company of eminently worthy hosts as well… I’d thoroughly enjoyed the (relatively) recent Big Country reunion shows, featuring The Alarm’s Mike Peters in place of the fabled 80’s Celtic tinged post-punkers’ sadly lost founder and vocalist Stuart Adamson, and since original duo Bruce Watson and Mark Brzezicki continued to tour as more of a going concern with a new line-up, I’d been hoping to finagle them onto my gig schedule. I’d even been pondering their November Fleece gig, when a no-brainer date at Swindon MECA was announced; now, the only issue was, how to get Logan in? My little man, 3 years shy of the 14+ stipulation, had seen Bruce and son Jamie perform twice with The Skids and was keen to see them in their “day job”. I therefore approached promoter Leander Morales who pulled strings with the venue and got Logan permission to attend. Hooray! Unfortunately, slow ticket sales meant a switch to the smaller Level 3, so Leander had to do the same with that venue – eventually successfully. Hooray! Again!

So, it was two excited little boys (me and my son!) who drove into town and parked on Milton Road, joining the queue and hitting the venue for 8. I had fun telling Logan stories of my exploits at my 80’s/ 90’s “spiritual home” (“if these walls could talk,” indeed!) and we ran into some old faces from those days during support Derailer’s set. Local veterans, their set pitched midway between some balls-out rocking Stooges-like proto punk, and some more sludgy hoary and hairy blues/pub rock. “I hope you’re going to fill this gap [on the dancefloor] when Big Country come on; we’ve only got one bloke down here!” the vocalist announced at one point, indicating Logan…! Their set improved, with rocker “Icebreaker”, 4/4 blues terrace chant rocker “Riot” and an “LA Woman”-like final number. Unoriginal, but unfussy and unpretentious. Seen a lot worse!

Kept our front row spot, house right, as the compact dancefloor filled and we were joined by Phil and The Big Man, before eerie Celtic music heralded Big Country’s entrance at 9. No messing around, this lot, straight into the strident, soaring and singalong “1,000 Stars”, Bruce Watson’s ringing guitar work already the main feature. “Swindon! Friday night! What were we thinking?” the guitarist quipped at its’ conclusion, before announcing they were last in the ‘don at the Brunel Rooms, to which some wag down the front (ok, it was me…) replied, “17^th August 1982 – I was there!”, only to be shot down with, “really? You should be on Time Team!” Then, noticing Logan after a fist-pumping “Look Away”, Bruce remarked, “small boy alert! Must remember not to swear… aah, fuck it!”

This set the tone for a relaxed, thoroughly enjoyable and celebratory set, in front of a fully engaged veteran audience. By no means note perfect, and with the sound mix a little uneven and lacking oomph at times, the overriding memory was the band’s performance itself; they were simply on fire tonight, pouring heart and soul into these fabled old songs, Bruce in fantasy band camp and throwing shapes throughout, vocalist Simon walking the line well between crowd rabble-rouser and reverential guest, and virtuoso drummer Mark giving a sheer masterclass in his art. And the songs… I may have revered “Heaven Up Here” more, “Empires And Dance” may have been more ground-breaking, but Big Country’s 1983 debut “The Crossing” is, in retrospect, a masterpiece of its’ time, songs full of huge terrace-chant choruses and evocative and windswept Celtic soundscapes, songs so intrinsically interwoven into my DNA it takes little persuasion for me to sing along, arms aloft, that 17 year old boy in the Amphi again… “The Storm”, a Celtic reel of delight, was excellent, “Porrohman” (which seamlessly segued into “Harvest Home”) a thing of desolate, widescreen wonder and my set highlight tonight, “Inwards” a raggedy-arsed, reckless romper-stomper, and “Chance” a lengthy and communal singalong, its’ joyful nature slightly at odds with the subject matter.

“Fields Of Fire” ended the set, at which point Bruce, after a short band huddle, announced there was no point going all the way back to the dressing room (at the back of Level 3’s balcony) just to come all the way back, so powered through! “In A Big Country” fittingly ended the night, with the band taking a deserved bow and Mark then paying an entirely apposite homage to Stuart Adamson. Chatted with the boys and our friendly merch guy Gordon afterwards, before I took a wired but tired boy home. I’ve certainly been to better sounding gigs this year, but in terms of sheer enjoyment, that was up with the best of ‘em. Thanks to Big Country – and Leander! – for a splendid boy’s night out!