You may have noticed a new addition to my list of gigs for 2026. One just added today. It’s all come about very unexpectedly. You see, recently when I have been awoken in the early hours and struggle to get back to sleep, I’ve been reaching for Spotify to play me some music. In doing this sometimes I employ the ‘DJ’ to play music for me. The ‘DJ’ is (I think) an AI generated algorithm thing, a virtual disc jockey that plays you the things it’s seen you play and has learnt your music tastes. It plays the things you want to hear but also exposes you to music you seem not to have heard that it thinks you may like.
This happened a couple of nights back with The Twilight Sad. It started playing a track of theirs and it immediately hooked me in. I was listening thinking who the heck is this?! They sound bloody good! I could hear the Scottish accent coming through. Then, when I saw their name I immediately thought of Catherine – The Anchoress, and her talking about The Twilight Sad and how much she liked them. I think she was recommending them for listening – either to her fans in general or perhaps to me specifically, I can’t remember which. Regardless, I can be a little impervious to new musical suggestions at times but I feel more open to things now than I have ever done in the past, even the recent past (it just might take a little while for me to get around to it sometimes). It was that immediate thought of Catherine talking about them that made me think I’ve been missing out on something here, haven’t i? I shall endeavour to rectify this!
Before the chance truly availed itself, I had ‘DJ’ Spotify on again in the early hours of this morning. I think I triggered a repeat of the previous DJ set and so it played The Twilight Sad to me again. During the previous day I had looked to see if maybe they were touring. I had a vague recall of seeing info about some gigs coming up somewhere in the recesses of my mind. Upon a web search I found they have a new album coming out in March and there is a tour coinciding with it which sees them playing two shows at the Barrowland Ballroom. After this morning’s repeat of listening to the song ‘I/m Not Here [Missing Face]’ (a very apt title for the current situation in my life) I just HAD to book one of those Barrowland gigs – so that’s what I did as soon as I was up and out of bed this morning.
I am growing so much love for ‘local’ music as well. Another Scottish band/artist that is embedding itself in me. As one love affair seems to be ending, it’s replaced with boundless love for so many more. And all due to this one song being played to me at relative random on Spotify. People shit upon streaming services, and yes they are shite if you don’t back it up with supporting artists you discover via it but I never do that. I will ALWAYS go on to support the artists and bands I fall in love with that I discover on Spotify. The buying of a ticket to see The Twilight Sad at the Barras in May will only be the start.
I may still mourn everything else that has happened around the whole ‘disillusioned with Simple Minds’ affair – but what I will be forever grateful for from my interactions with Jim Kerr is his influence in getting me wanting to go to gigs. It really wasn’t much of a thing for be before 2014 but boy do I LOVE going to gigs now. Love, love, love it! Oh, and well…the Barras too. Had it not been for the Waterfront video being shot there and the subsequent shows, that venue might have well been laying in ruins by now.
A final note on The Twilight Sad that seems rather apt for the times…the new album is titled It’s The Long Goodbye. SPOOKY!
