McAlmont and Butler

GIG REVIEW – McALMONT & BUTLER

Back together to promote the 20th anniversary deluxe edition reissue of their 1995 classic album “The Sound of McAlmont & Butler”, David McAlmont and Bernard Butler played a short series of successful UK dates in November. Our LGA gig reviewer, Paul Wood, was on hand to catch the duo and their band (which included a string section) perform an impressive set before a crowd of enthused followers at the Institute in Birmingham.

McAlmont and Butler

McAlmont and Butler

“The Sound of…” album is probably the highlight so far of the post-Suede career of guitarist Bernard Butler, an intoxicating mix of his trademark guitar sounds and the impressive vocal talents of David McAlmont,

Support was provided by the Magic Numbers (or at least, three of the four members) who started the show with a stripped down pulled from their various albums before proceeding to join David and Bernard as part of their band for the evening. The compliment was returned with McAlmont and Butler lining up with The Magic Numbers for the last number of their own support set.

The set list for McAlmont & Butler was a combination of tracks from “The Sound of…” and their 2002 album “Bring It Back”, including minor hits “Falling” and “Bring It Back” from the later album. Surprise cover of the night was the 80’s soul/pop hit “Zoom”, originally released by Fat Larry’s Band.

Here’s a link to the band’s official website which contains videos of “Falling” and “You Do” plus recent live footage from shows in 2014:

http://www.mcalmontandbutler.uk/video

The audience crammed into the slightly smaller Institute 2 hall loved every minute, and their obvious delight from both David and Bernard to the reception they were getting and the music they were creating on stage. The whole show was a treat from start to finish, with charting singles – “Yes” (UK Top 10) and “You Do” (UK Top 20) both saved for the encores.

Here’s a Youtube link to the original promo video for “Yes”:

This was a great show from a band that was clearly enjoying itself, together they put on a performance which left their fans delighted. The guitar work of Butler in particular should be of interest to all LGA students and followers. The reissued deluxe edition of “The Sound of” includes a second disc of unreleased material and a DVD. There’s even talk of a new third album on the back of the current successful tour. Can’t wait to hear it!

BAND LINE UP

David McAlmont – Vocals
Bernard Butler – Guitar
Makoto Sakamoto – Drums
Romeo Stoddart (Magic Numbers) – Bass Guitar
Sean Read – Keyboards, Saxophone
Michelle Stoddart & Angela Gannon (Magic Numbers) – Backing vocals

Strings led by Sally Herbert
SET LIST

  1. Can We Make It
  2. Where R U Now
  3. What’s the Excuse This Time?
  4. Different Strokes
  5. Tonight
  6. How About You?
  7. The Debitor
  8. Although
  9. Sunny Boy
  10. Disappointment
  11. Blue
  12. Speed
  13. Bring It Back
  14. Zoom (Fat Larry’s Band cover)
  15. Falling

Encore:

  1. You’ll Lose a Good Thing
  2. You Do

 

Encore 2:

  1. Goodbye
  2. Yes

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Here’s a Youtube clip of the duo playing “Yes” live on the Jools Holland Later show in their 1995 pomp. Check out the squalling guitar work from Bernard Butler as the song closes out.