Wha’s Like Us 2 – suggests there was a Wha’s Like Us 1, but probably it was just called Wha’s Like Us. There will be a Wha’s Like Us 3. In no way does next year’s published lineup at this Glasgow Prog Rock Festival match the quality we had the privilege of attending today at Drygate Brewery.
A new combo – Machinary, headlined, featuring former members of Pallas (Aberdeen), Abel Ganz (Glasgow) and Comedy of Errors (Glasgow). Comedy of Errors had to feature tonight, along with Long Earth (Glasgow) reviewed recently in these pages, as are all the aforementioned over the years. From south of the border, and given second top of the bill, was John Young of Lifesigns, doing a solo set. A pity, Lifesigns live performances are rare. Marg and Hector saw Lifesigns a few years back, locally, but as no Curry was had that day, nothing was ever written in Curry-Heute. Who mentioned Curry?
Thanks to a bar which has burst on to the Craft Beer scene, Hector has spent more hours in Dennistoun this month than the cumulative total for the last fourteen years. This can be stated with precision, it is that long since visit #1 to Nakodar Grill (13 Annfield Place, Dennistoun, Glasgow G31 2XQ), Glasgow’s only East End Curry House until one reaches Ballieston on the boundary. Given that the people of the East End may have dubious tastes in football, why should they expect Desi Curry? Having written this, the realisation, Ibrox/Govan only have two such outlets.
Nakodar Grill is very much an Indian Restaurant as the male attire, table cloths and big prices testified. Not only are main courses priced a la Merchant City, what is being charged for Sundries is bewildering. East End overheads cannot be the equivalent of the city centre.
The Lunch Menu (£15.95) might have been bearable, be aware, throughout the menu, there is a £3.00 surcharge for Lamb.
If the diner wishes to pay over the odds for Indian Beer, so be it. The local brew is priced reasonably,
Cider drinkers, stay away!
As no large bottles of Sparkling Water were available, today we had tap water. There is an excellent bar across the street.
Steve, whose express train had got him to Bellgrove a few minutes ahead of us, was waiting for the 12.30 rendezvous. Two couples sat on the front window side of the restaurant. Another couple would arrive soon after us. That was it, I had hoped for a t-shirt parade of obscure Prog Rock bands.
There was a momentary hiatus before the waitress realised our presence and took us to a table.
The menu showed no sign of the Lahori Style Lamb enjoyed last time, despite the on-the-bone being mythical. Today, Capsicum nearly everywhere, this would severely restrict our options.
Marg declared first: Lamb Mint Yoghurt (£18.95) with a Rooti (£2.50).
The most expensive item on the menu – is how Marg identified this Curry.
The Hector was still considering the Lunch Menu plus another option when Steve announced: Traditional Curry (£13.50) plus £3.00 for Lamb. This meant the Lamb Bhoona (£16.50) became Hector’s fallback. What was the Staff Curry (£11.95/£13.95)? The waitress didn’t know, she went to find out.
Mince & Peas.
I half expected Marg to jump in here, but she did have the best Keema Mutter in Glasgow last week at Curry Cottage. Lamb Bhoona for Hector with a Plain Tandoori Naan (£4.95). Steve completed the Order with a Garlic Nan (£5.95). He asked for his Curry to be – above medium. This the waitress announced as – hot.
These are London Bread prices. It’s just flour and water, though I suppose there is the upkeep of their marvellous Tandoori ovens front of house.
As part of my walk, I did capture the near empty premises. Our last visit was in the evening, much busier.
A turbaned chap, with a keen sense of humour, brought the food. Marg declined a plate, she would eat straight from the bowl. Steve and Hector took a plate, to use as a larger base…and not make a mess of the table cloth.
The Roti, served whole, looked to be somewhere between the traditional white Chapatti and the Wholemeal Flour version which is taking over. I didn’t see it turn to crisp, it didn’t last long enough, so possibly more Chapatti than Roti.
The Naan were presented in baskets, in bits, no fun here at all. The point of the teardrop was at the top of the pile, my favourite part of a Tandoori Naan. Risen puffy, burnt blisters galore, presentation aside, this was how a Naan should be.
At one point I thought I might manage all, even with Marg’s help, there was a bit of Naan left over.
The Garlic Naan had the distinctive green Garlic paste spread across it. Steve managed the lot. Typically, Steve can have Rice and Bread, not at these prices.
We are not in Bradford any more.
Bhoona Lamb
The thick, viscous Masala was instantly pleasing, a deep red colour, but not unnatural in appearance. No Whole Spices, this was not Desi Curry. One piece of cooked-in Tomato stood out, as did the Herb content. Everyone noted the size of the cuts of Meat. Counted into double figures, there was a lot of eating here. I was now able, partially, to come to terms with the cost of the Curry.
Tangy, and Tomatoey, evoking the surprisingly wonderful Achari had at Balti BLVD (Crawley) recently. Alas, today’s Curry lacked the depth of Flavour. I marked the Seasoning as – fine – initially, then on further consideration decided it was not even at that level. The Spice Level I took to be – above medium, no issues there.
The quality of Lamb was variable, markedly so. The softer pieces were enjoyed, after too many chews, the limitations of Mainstream Curry Houses were once again highlighted. Having not absorbed the Spices and Flavours from the Masala, apart from its own Meatiness, the Lamb was giving nothing back. Its presence became incidental, most pleasure was being accrued from the eating the Naan and Masala.
Meat & Masala, is the Hector approaching an impasse?
Determined to finish the Lamb, as one feels obliged to do, the remaining Naan and some Masala had to be abandoned. This tactic needs to be reviewed.
Lamb Mint Yoghurt
Apart from the missing piece of Tomato, it was difficult to tell this Cury apart from the Bhuna, a similar consistency. The camera caught a lighter hue, the added Yoghurt the likely cause. In a departure from the norm, Marg had a Soupçon of my Masala and pronounced it to be – more Earthy. More from Marg:
I ate from the decorative dish and found the lamb in large pieces, with the sauce full of flavour. A blended mixture, with coriander tomatoes, and a tangy flavour. I was expecting a strong taste of mint. I had to break up the large pieces of lamb which were tender and tasty. I used up all my Rooti when eating this meal, and with the abundance of sauce, I also took some of Hector’s plain Naan to scrape the bowl.
A very enjoyable meal in a lovely setting.
Traditional Curry – Lamb
Was the whole Green Chilli just a means of differentiating the three Dishes? Steve set this aside. With a seemingly identical Masala, this could well have been the base from which the above two Dishes were created.
Steve – A tomatoey Curry, heat as asked for, in the old fashioned style.
I found most of the meat to be chewy.
The Naan Bread was perfect.
How I would love to go back to 1965 and once again taste a – Traditional Glasgow Curry.
As she cleared the table, the waitress asked the customary question. Steven and Marg gave the usual responses. The Hector stayed schtum. As the reader must realise, there was much more to be said than a few homilies.
There was but one stain on the table cloth. No surprises for guessing where. QED.Fourteen years ago, Nakodar Grill was way better value, and had a greater array of Curry styles. Today, too Mainstream, the Hector seeks better fayre.
The Bill
£65.35 Kept within acceptable parameters by having tap water.
The Aftermath
Minimal formalities, then the short walk west to Drygate Brewery.
Wha’s Like Us 2 : The All Scottish Prog Fest
Marg and Hector had only been to Drygate Brewery once before, immediately after visit#1 to Nakodar Grill. I only became aware of the existence of an upstairs music venue in the following years. The size of the room impressed as did the provision of seating. It was going to be a long day, there was seating for all. However, the Hector had pre-empted any discomfort by arranging for three seats to be set aside through being a long standing acquaintance of Joe Cairney (Comedy of Errors / Grand Tour).
On checking in, the ladies at the door said our seats would be at the front, Marg headed off, she found them easily, without disturbing The Snake Temple Kings who were close to the end of their set. An Aberdeen Prog Rock band, another one. Hector awaits the release of their city contemporaries, Pallas, possibly final album. More on Pallas later.
The Snake Temple Kings
As we took our seats, the vocalist tested our mettle by inflicting some throaty grunting on the ears, not my style, and the reason why I have never listened more to Opeth. As this dissipated so the true sound of The Snake Temple Kings came across, quality Prog with a flautist who evoked early Genesis.
This is a band I shall certainly go and see again. The audience were thanked for listening, so who knows where they have had to play up north. Marg immediately bought their cd – Sunchild – whose cover mentions – sax – but not – flute. The joy of having our designated seats was that we were able to move about between acts, no numb bums.
In the ante-room, I caught up with Joe, we had matters Maltese related to discuss. Thereafter, our trio was joined by Renaldo McKim (Long Earth) who addressed me as – The Curry Man. He had read my review of their last Glasgow gig at the end of June. Honest as ever, I questioned whether Maaike Siegerist’s gentle vocal style fitted their music. As today’s show would once again promote their new album – Towards The Sky – earlier material might not be conveyed so well.
I also dropped Marg in it by repeating her observation that onstage, Renaldo is in full concentration mode and has little interaction what the audience, or other band members, Maaikke in particular.
Give her a hug – I proposed, knowing that was well out of order. To Marg he promised a smile.
We’ll be sitting right in front of you – was my final comment as we returned to the hall to see Scarlet INside.
Earlier, I had spotted boxes of Tunnock’s biscuits at the check-in desk. That these were gratis was not previously realised. Marg and Steve took Tea Cakes, Hector is a Caramel Wafer / Log man, but was still enjoying the afterglow of the Curry. My pint of soda water was all that was required.
*
*
Scarlet INside.
Scarlet INside, another name I had not encountered until today, turned out to be a duo. The main man, Kevin Kennie, I discover is a Glasgow musician, composer and multi-instrumentalist. Today it was guitar and vocals. A series of albums have been released since 1986, all with EXtra capitalisations, who does THat? The musical styles of Scarlet INside cover Prog, Jazz, Folk, World, Ambient, and experimental – kitchen sink sounds. Why have I never heard of this outfit?
We were treated to a not too long set of well performed compositions. With no rhythm section, a somewhat limited sound, so how was this Prog?
Long Earth
Long Earth were set up the opposite way from when we saw them last. This meant that Renaldo was not standing right in front of us, Mike Baxter (keyboards) was even further away. By now, we should be acquainted with Mike who is the friend of an erstwhile colleague.
It was Seahorses, with a big Proggy synth motif that kicked of the Long Earth set. Having played the cd – Towards The Sky – a few times, tonight’s set would be familiar. Only – Moscow – from – An Ordinary Life – was from outwith the current album. So here is where Hector has an issue with the female vocalist, hers is not the voice that made me take note of Long Earth. I guess I arrived too late.
With Marg and Steve on either side of me, in the Gerry Rafferty style, both commented on how good a singer Maaike is. As with the much missed Tracey Hitchings (Landmarq), I did come to accept her replacing Damian Wilson (Landmarq/ Arena).
Kenny McCabe on drums was also providing backing vocals. As for his drumming, excellent. Steve also made a point of highlighting this.
David McLachlan on Bass, once again handled the introductions. So keen was he to tell the story of next song, he did so at least three too early. And finally…
Marg reckoned she got a smile from Renaldo, the momentary lapse in concentration cost him a note, – a jazz note – was how he described it afterwards. Renaldo can play, so one wonders why it has taken until 2026 for our paths to cross.
I can see us attending many more Long Earth gigs. There was a ninety minute break before the evening show. Time to get some food at the main Drygate Bar. Smart people had booked tables, we joined a solo chap at a table in view of the football on TV. As ever, Marg had life stories sorted by the time we went back upstairs to see Comedy of Errors.
Before the evening session, I cornered John Young who actually recognised the Hector alias.
No band, but backing tracks – he assured me.
Comedy of Errors
By all rights, Comedy of Errors should have been the headlining act. For reasons known to Joe, he did not want this. Bruce Levick, now of Machinary, was filling in on drums after his replacement in Comedy of Errors had to pull out at the last minute. So minimal rehearsal time.
I had asked Joe for a heads up on which songs to brush up on before this weekend. He nominated the first two albums: Disobey (2011), Fanfare & Fantasy (2013) and the most recent album – Threnody For A Dead Queen (2023). How apt was that title for the event of that year? Additionally, on stage, Joe announced that only once have they not played – The Student Prince – so tonight parts I and III, but not necessarily in that order.
I purchased – The Student Prince – mini album immediately after finding them by chance performing in a basement bar in Bath Street. Comedy of Errors split up thereafter, to reform without Joe, and play a different style of music. In the end all was well, as it was this evening.
Jim Johnson on keyboards, the only ever present member, and composer extraordinaire, kept a low profile stage left. His music, satisfying enough to perform it live.
Tonight I saw Steve Agnew for the first time on guitar, also John Fitzgerald on bass. The latter was inspired by seeing Jaco Pastorius with Weather Report. Assuming it was a Scottish gig, I was there. Looking back over previous lineups, Mark Spalding, now of Machinary, on guitar, used to be the bass player. Steve had reacquainted himself with Sam McCulloch (Oscar Cordoba, MacFloyd) who I must have missed seeing with the Comedy of Errors. So much talent in the Glasgow area.
John Young (Lifesigns)
John Young split his set into two parts. Starting with his solo material then playing material from Lifesigns: Different, Impossible, Shoreline, Fortitude. The quality of his singing was never in doubt, the complexity of his backing tracks caused great discussion. Steve would have preferred him to have just used a piano accompaniment, but that would not have sounded like Prog. That John had to mention Dave Bainbridge whenever a standout guitar break came up, did feel a bit silly. Lifesigns karaoke? Not to hear the big organ crescendo at the end of Fortitude would have been nothing less than disappointing.
Maybe some of those assembled this evening will go out and explore Lifesigns albums, and even the final Greenslade album on which John Young appeared?
Machinary
I don’t think I’m going to like this – whispered Marg when Machinary kicked off their set. As the fairly routine sounding Machinary compositions gave way to a homage to Pallas, she was definitely onside. Who originally played that – asked Marg before realising that the bulk of the set would be Euan Lowson era Pallas.
Alan Reed, Euan’s successor in Pallas, was invited up on stage, followed by Martin Jakubski to add further vocals. I have seen seen Martin perform with StillMarillion, such an accurate rendition of Fish it confirmed why I have long preferred the Hogarth era. Martin also provides the vocals in Steve Rothery’s (Marillion) band. In time, Joe was also onstage.
Four singers might have seemed enough, alas, the chap behind us decided that he had to join in every Pallas song, much to the detriment of our pleasure. Not one for listening to lyrics never mind learning them, I too realised that after forty years, I still knew every word.
Crown of Thorns, Shock Treatment, Cut and Run, Rise and Fall, East West, Atlantis – the strength of composition in Pallas’ formative years astonishes. Pallas should have been huge, and much later – The Cross and The Crucible – confirmed they still had it.
Euan used to employ props and costumes to dramatise the lyrics, this evening his voice and facial expressions were all that were needed. Genuine emotion. Apart from popping up occasionally on stage with Pallas / Comedy of Errors in Glasgow shows, the Scottish audience has been denied his talent for too many years.
Bruce Levick on drums, Mark Spalding on guitar, Huw Montgomery (Abel Ganz, Grand Tour) and Allan Kerr on bass, did a fair rendition of the Pallas arrangements. Ronnie Brown (Pallas) was in the audience, he too should agree that Huw’s keyboards could have been more prominent.
Grand Tour
The stage emptied leaving Joe, Huw, Mark, Bruce and Allan on stage. Allan as guest, this was the first live performance of Grand Tour – live. The Horn of Plenty – a memorable moment.
Arrive Alive – concluded the evening, everyone on stage including the compères and Bela the producer of today’s festival.
Marg declared that she had thoroughly enjoyed the day. Steve had left before the end, trains were a mess. Finally, as we made our way to the exit, a quick catch up with Jim Johnson.
I don’t fancy the lineup for Wha’s Like Us 3, a pity.