January 25, 2001

David Pajo / Stuart Braithwaite: Glasgow Nice'N'Sleazy

The kingpins of Slint and Mogwai come together for a post-rock strummathon...

Usually members of a cult don't get to meet the object of their worship, but here a few people are about to see David Pajo - mainstay of post-rock icons Slint - in the flesh. Indeed, that other mainstay of this so-called Glasgow 'scene' has organised the gig and is supporting his mentor.

Far from the noisy peaks scaled by Mogwai, Braithwaite is almost unplugged, opening with an acoustic version of Joy Division's 'Insight' and following it with an untitled and unrecorded Mogwai song. The only other original is 'Tuner' - "doing other people's songs is easier" jokes Braithwaite - and indeed with a Dylan cover and a closing 'Bird On A Wire' it's just like a trawl though your depressed mate's record collection.

Similarly, when Pajo takes the stage it becomes clear that he's in the mood to pay tribute to a few of his idols. Following some introductory dueling guitars the set is mainly comprised of covers, although Pajo carries these off, his folky guitar being the perfect backing to a voice a little reminiscent of Nick Cave. Apart from a Mekons reworking we also get 3 (!) Misfits tunes, whose stories of murder and mayhem are almost comical in this less-than-punk setting.

Pajo is again joined by Braithwaite, but any onlookers hoping for a soundclash of the titans are to be disappointed - a protracted version of Blind Willie Johnson's 'You're Gonna Need Somebody On Your Bond' generates some feedback, but in all it's a low-key, low-volume night, telling us more about these guys' heroes than anything else.

Stuart McHugh

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