It was a good-sized crowd who packed into Glasgow’s Glad Café on a Sunday afternoon for a new series of occasional matinee sessions promoted by Kevin Morris’ Fallen Angels Club. The draw was the return, after a tumultuous event, of My Darling Clementine, a duo that Glasgow has a real fondness for, hence the almost sold-out show. There was competition via the run-up to the English Women’s football team’s appearance in some game later on, but, hey, this is Glasgow, so marital disharmony won out.
In a neat touch, the pair (Lou Dalgleish and Michael Weston King) ditched their usual musical intro with the strains of George and Tammy’s wedding vows replaced by Tommy McClain’s ‘Before I Get Too Old’, a nice tribute to the singer who had passed away a few days before. However, as they bounced onto the stage, they were in their familiar roles as a sparring couple, Dalgleish noting that Weston King was still her husband but… maybe one day. The verbal jousts are obviously part of their appeal but they are a sideshow really as the first portion of their set consisted of excellent renditions of songs from the back catalogue, opening with ‘Since I Fell For You’ followed by ‘King Of The Carnival’ and then ‘Going Back To Memphis’, the pair in perfect harmony. A reminder (if one was needed) that they have their finger on the pulse not only of classic country but also southern soul and border sounds. As Dalgleish took to her keyboard, they launched into ‘Two Lane Texaco’, a wonderful lament for a lost America, while ‘Our Race Is Run’ dripped with memories of early sixties Brill Building pop brilliance.
The bickering continued as Dalgleish introduced what she called “the infidelity section” of the show. Just two songs here, her riposte to Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’ followed by the tear-worn waltz which is ‘Friday Night At the Tulip Hotel’, a sorry tale of adultery and eventual desertion. From there, the pair then delivered two songs from their Elvis Costello project, “Country Darkness”. That the couple have managed to take on some of Costello’s songs and perfectly arranged them to sit quite comfortably with the My Darling Clementine universe was evident to see and hear as they delivered excellent versions of ‘I Felt The Chill Before The Winter Came’ and ‘Either Side Of The Same Town’.
Time then for a couple of songs from Weston King’s latest solo album, “The Struggle”, ruefully introduced by Dalgleish. First off was ‘The Hardest Thing Of All’, a song about ennui, about the lack of a motive to live really, a harbinger of things to come perhaps. Next was ‘Weight Of The World’, a song written by Weston King during Trump’s first presidency, with Weston King noting that the orange man child was currently in Scotland, having landed in the same airport which was the occasion of Elvis Presley’s one brief sojourn on UK soil. No time for on-stage banter here, really, as he gave a moving delivery of a song which delves into the darkness of MAGA with Dalgleish adding dramatic keyboard.
Remaining at her keyboard, Dalgleish introduced her next song, ‘The Empty Swing’. This was an emotional moment as she had written the song about the pair’s granddaughter who was one of the victims of last year’s Southport attack. Her name was Bebe King, she was six years old. Up until now, this had been a regular My Darling Clementine show, but the shadow of this tragedy must surely have played in several of the audience’s minds. Lou Dalgleish briefly explained the origins of the song and pre-emptively apologised if she couldn’t get through it. With Weston King crouched alongside her, she sang the song, and she got through it. At the end, there was a palpable gasp from the audience before they, as one, stood up and applauded.
There was a shared deep breath and tears were swept aside (really, several of the audience were mopping their eyes) as Dalgleish and Weston King rallied and got back to the their bickering before they launched into their “secret of a long marriage” on a triumphant ‘The Embers & The Flame’, the pair of them well able to capture the dynamics of the recorded song all on their acoustic own some, the coda delivered quite perfectly. Prior to this, Weston King explained that they don’t do “encores” as he coached us in the new etiquette. They would stay on stage (“it’s a long way to the dressing room“) and we’d pretend they’d gone and stamp and shout for more. We complied, of course. The audience hollered and one voice cried out for ‘There’s No Heart In This Heartache’ and they duly obliged with some abandon and indeed, some hilarity as they hammed it up excellently before ending with a song dedicated to that guy who was currently cheating at golf in Turnberry, ‘Your Cheating Heart’. They sang it well, and the sentiment was much appreciated. Overall, an excellent show, a triumph over adversity with lots of love in abundance both during the show and thereafter as My Darling Clementine dallied with the audience despite the football having started on the telly in the bar.
You can read about and hear ‘The Empty Swing’ along with Michael Weston King’s song for Bebe, ‘Sally Sparkles’, here. They are available to buy on Bandcamp, and all proceeds go to Bebe’s Hive, a CIC set up by her family to offer grief support for children.
Thanks for a wonderful review. I only wish I could have been there.
I was lucky enough to see them in my mates living room! He had enough money to book them for his birthday party. They were great people I had a long chat with Michael about everything from the Miner’s Strike back in the 80’s to Steve Earle and Americana.