Live Review

Jesse Malin & The St. Mark’s Social – King Tut’s, Glasgow

• 2nd Jul 2010

Jesse Malin has long been a regular visitor to these shores. Last night he brought his new band, The St. Mark’s Social, to Glasgow and played a tremendous show that kept a capacity crowd entertained long after the usual curfew time.

The night started with a short solo set from Allan Fox of Malin’s backing band. Showing a strong voice with some delicate melodies his mix of keyboard and acoustic guitar backed songs went down very well.

The Killing Floor, only formed earlier this year when the musicians met at Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios in New York, were second on the bill. Their sound is a fairly standard hard rock one: two guitars and power chord based, but it was delivered with considerable passion. The extended solos and lengthy band introductions were perhaps pushing it a bit for a support band though.

Jesse Malin’s set burst to life with the opening Burning The Bowery, the first track from his excellent new album, “Love It To Life”. Malin plays with an intensity that few can match and the sweat was soon flying from him as he tore through the opening numbers at breakneck speed.

Malin’s musical style is difficult to define, not that definitions matter too much. It is clearly rock n roll, but there are elements of punk and folk in his work, and a sense of his hardcore roots in much of the new material. What comes across most strongly with Malin is his attitude. The post punk defiance of a world weary street poet who has somehow survived heartache and continues to fight the good fight.

Queen of the Underground was dedicated to revolutionaries everywhere, and was followed by All The Way From Moscow, an anti-consumerist song that tells of golden arches in Red Square. Both were note perfect and sung with the manic energy that sees Malin gyrate and twist between lines.

At heart, Jesse Malin is a showman. He has been fronting rock bands since he was a teenager and clearly loves being on a stage, telling his stories and commanding the centre of attention. And as he mixed new songs and older numbers with the skill of a polished performer he had the audience completely under his spell.

The set closed with a frenetic version of Brooklyn, an older track often played with just an acoustic guitar. But tonight it was the full electric version complete with extended guitar solo and finishing with Malin staggering across the stage as if exhausted.

But an encore was a must. And, after a short break for a change of t-shirt, Malin returned to great acclaim. The set seemed to keep going and going, from a tender Bastards of Young to a stunning Solitaire which saw Malin conduct a sing along sitting in the middle of the audience, who simply sat down with him and joined in.

Two requests eventually brought the night to a close. Fan favourites TKO and Cigarettes And Violet were both delivered with intensity and energy and Malin was even forgiven for forgetting the words half way through his final song.

But that small error did not take away from a performance which excited and entertained an audience that seemed to know every word and was eager to sing along.

Jesse Malin has always been an excellent live performer, and his new band are already as tight as if they had been touring together for years. For a time last night King Tut’s was transformed from the heart of Glasgow to New York’s Lower East Side, in spirit at least, as Malin entertained and enthralled his audience.