Duke Special

I’d never heard of Duke Special before, but when I was visiting family in Scotland my cousins said we HAD TO go see him play. We saw him at The Arches in Glasgow and it was absolutely amazing!

Even though I didn’t know the songs, I didn’t need to know them to get into it. He gives off such great energy and really keeps the crowd into it. His interactions with the crowd were really fun-he told little stories and made it feel more intimate than it might have otherwise. You can tell he’s definitely appreciative of the fans who have come to see him! He even came out and walked around the crown singing and talking to people, which was pretty surreal (in a good way!)

As much as I loved his singing and lyrics, the thing that really got me was his piano playing-he is insanely talented. I didn’t know any of the songs beforehand, but I have to say “Conditon” was my favorite that I heard. I actually went home and bought a bunch of his mp3s right away. This concert definitely turned me into a fan, and I will be going to see him again If I ever have the chance!

Regarded as something of an institution by his considerable, dedicated fanbase (people of refined taste, one and all), the once Mercury Prize-nominated Ed Harcourt is a man of many talents. Of course, the most obvious of these are displayed across his burgeoning back catalogue of records; that soulful yet deeply weary voice, his Waitsian way around the keys of a piano, his mastery of melancholic and life-affirming melody. But that only tells half the story when it comes to his equally impressive live sets. Harcourt, far from the being the character of the downtrodden troubadour that’s so often centre stage in his songs, is both a wild partier and formidable comedian on stage, often taking breaks to indulge in a brief tipple or conversation with individual audience members that can soon have an entire room in stitches. It can be a little unnerving even to one witnessing his shtick for the first time, but it soon becomes part of what makes Harcourt brilliant – he gives you his heart and soul in his music, but to truly witness his whole, rounded personality, you need the wit and danger that comes with watching him run through those songs while in the very same room.