January 29, 2001
Grandaddy: Glasgow QM Union
As 'The Crystal Lake' is re-released, Grandaddy consolidate their cult status...
Many bands would opt for beer, or something stronger, as their rider, but for Grandaddy, it's foliage, and lots of it. Maybe this makes them feel at home - Jason Lytle and pals are clearly country (with a small 'c') boys at heart, and somewhere near where rolling hills and the march of progress collide, that's where you'll find Grandaddy - stepping straight out of the backwoods, but obsessed with technology. A giant screen shows images of hills and mountains, spoiled by the occasional bullet train or cartoon antelope.
So from a set comprising much of acclaimed album 'The Sophtware Slump', we can assess the band's progress. "We've had a lot of coverage, but the band has been on the go for years," says Lytle, before launching into oldie 'Taster', whose rough edge if anything confirms how far the songwriting talent in Grandaddy has come on since 1994.
Such is their popularity with this audience, it's ALL crowd-pleasers - 'AM180' and 'Hewlett's Daughter' are all met with whoops although an attempt at audience participation is doomed as their "12-1234" is met with "it'd be nice to just play songs, but there's all these gadgets to set up".
Moments later, and on the eve of its re-release, 'The Crystal Lake' restarts at breakneck speed. And, even in their 90 minute set, Grandaddy are so blessed with songs that they don't have time for their cover of Pavement's 'Here'. Now that's progress.
Stuart McHugh
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