United Kingdom Music Scene Finds Itself Under Siege

Brian Raftery | January 19, 2007 11:53 am

What’s the hottest ticket in the U.K. this week? Babyshambles? Kaiser Chiefs? Maybe the delightful Finley Quaye? Blimeny gee, you wouldn’t believe:

“Who threw these?”, asked Steven Seagal, holding aloft the pair of knickers which had, moments earlier, alighted on his effects pedals. Clearly relieved that the miscreant was female, Seagal launched into Gunfire in a Juke Joint, just as a brawl erupted on the balcony. Welcome to Glasgow, Steven…

After a rousing introduction by backing vocalist Jermaine Paul, Seagal appeared on the tiny stage wielding a Gibson Firebird as if it were a toothpick. His solos, bolstered by the excellent rhythm guitar of Harold Smith and slide playing of Bernard Allison, flowed on songs such as BBQ and Alligator Ass, and the slightly surreal image of this Hollywood action hero playing blues on a ferry in Glasgow was quickly dispelled by the sheer joy on his face as his second sell-out crowd of the day lapped it up.

He finished with Wild Thing, which, in the circumstances, could not have been more apt.

Alas, there’s no full setlist available, so we can only wonder if Seagal did his traditional back-to-back “Ass jam” of both “Alligator Ass” and “Talk To My Ass.” Anyway, he’s got nearly 40 more shows to go; we expect the barrage of non-stop reviews, reports and Flickr pools to start any moment now.

Steven Seagal and Thunderbox, Renfrew Ferry, Glasgow [The Herald]