Peter Capaldi, Glasgow review: 'more declaimer than crooner'
As a live performer, the coolest Doctor Who has a bone dry sense of humour and charisma to spare, writes Fiona Shepherd
Peter Capaldi, Stereo, Glasgow ★★★
Some 45 years ago, Peter Capaldi would have been playing the early Eighties equivalent of Stereo as frontman of Glasgow post-punk band The Dreamboys (with his pal Craig Ferguson on drums). Now he's an Oscar-winning national treasure going back to his musical roots with two albums on local label Last Night From Glasgow.
There was as much of a thrill in the air as could be mustered in the sultry heat of this subterranean venue as a suited and booted Capaldi took the stage for the second of two sold out shows, backed by a young band kitted out in sparkly tracksuit tops.
Taking a brief breather after pounding opener Is It Today and the brooding storytelling of Hanger Lane, the coolest Doctor Who regaled the audience with tales of his first guitar by way of intro to the title track of his latest album, Sweet Illusion. Next, it was indoor shades on for a sweet, twinkly lullaby dedicated to his grandkids - about taking out the bins.
As a vocalist, Capaldi is more declaimer than crooner but of course he has charisma to spare as well as a bone dry sense of humour. Proclaiming himself the “goth Victor Meldrew”, he showcased his best effort at a happy song which he reckoned doubled as an assessment of his music career: Not Going Anywhere. However, the hokey rocky horror melodrama of It's Not Over Until It's Over suggested that Capaldi as Frank-N-Furter wouldn’t be a stretch should the opportunity arise.
He paid tribute to Glasgow’s long gone but most beloved Apollo with the glam rock flourish of The Big Guy (“a song about dementia”). Elsewhere in an eclectic set, he offered Eighties synth odyssey Through the Cracks and the Nick Cave-goes-New Romantic strains of The Great Magnificence, while the encore paid further tribute to his influences with a rendition of The Cure's Friday I'm In Love and Bowiesque ballad No One in the World.
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