Today I risk the bike. It was bloody windy but still good
fun. L goes to PT which is far more of a torture session than riding in the
wind. Unfortunately her personal trainer will soon be departing her gym but he
does leave her with a training programme for three sessions a week.
In the evening I get to see a band for the first time just as they
are splitting up. The Spook School were formed in 2010 but after nine years and
three albums this is sadly their farewell tour.
I am told that they are pure entertainment live, so it makes you wonder what’s took me so long to get to see them. Tonight they live up to their entertainment billing by launching their set by launching themselves into space. Well, they come on stage wearing matching astronaut outfits and cardboard boxes on their heads for helmets to the strains of Babylon Zoo’s ‘Spaceman’. It is an curious entrance indeed but an entertaining one.
I am told that they are pure entertainment live, so it makes you wonder what’s took me so long to get to see them. Tonight they live up to their entertainment billing by launching their set by launching themselves into space. Well, they come on stage wearing matching astronaut outfits and cardboard boxes on their heads for helmets to the strains of Babylon Zoo’s ‘Spaceman’. It is an curious entrance indeed but an entertaining one.
The four piece from Glasgow then launch into ‘Still Alive’ a
massive anthem from their third album ‘Could It Be Different?’ which is the
first of many great singalong moments tonight. It also signals the disrobing of drummer
Niall McCamley from his spacesuit. Attire that clearly isn’t suitable for
drummers.
‘Still Alive’ takes sharp aim at bigotry which is an issue The
Spook School have close to their hearts. After trying to tell people through
their music, but largely failing, their guitarist Nye Todd came out as
transgender a few years ago and started to transition.
Since then the band who include Nye’s brother Adam, also a
guitarist, have gained a lot of credit for tackling gender fluidity and standing
up for a non-binary lifestyle. Yet musically, despite three highly impressive
albums, they have never really broken through.
Even so the decision to call it a day was a surprise. With the
Spook School being seen as an ‘issues’ band perhaps that has all weighed too
heavily on them. Talented musicians that they are, it will be interesting to see
what they all do now.
Right now though, they are going out with a bang. The band
sound fantastic, ripping through a set that is a celebration of the past nine
years and their three albums. Nye’s transition has certainly changed the level of
his voice to what it was on the band’s early material and that is very noticeable
tonight but it adds rather than subtracts from their performance.
They mix up their
up-tempo singalong numbers with slower
moments. The wistful plea of ‘Keep In Touch’, their final single, is
immensely fittingly
tonight. Bassist Anna Cory contributes haunting backing vocals to the
song that gives it an extra level of sadness. While Cory also takes lead
vocals on several
tracks including the excellent ‘Less Than Perfect’.
At other times they do not take themselves seriously at all,
or rather McCamley doesn’t. The drummer delivers a jokey monologue between
every song. This is clearly part of what they are but the rest of the band do
seem to carry a look of ‘having heard it all before’ on their faces. He seems
to be advertising himself post Spook School to any bands who might be looking
for a drummer. If not, a career in stand-up comedy clearly beckons.
The band wind the set up with ‘Try to Be Hopeful’ before they
put their cardboard helmets back on and leave the stage, destined for the moon.
They return for an encore, on the moon, and a lively cover
of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Go Your Own Way’. Then close the night with ‘I Want To Kiss
You’ and with that the final Spook School gig in Nottingham is at end. They
have one more show to do in home town Glasgow tomorrow. Then the Spooks are
gone, possibly for ever.
(Friday 6th September)
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