A Pleasing Performance
The last time R13 caught Malcolm Middleton he was right at home bantering with a Glaswegian audience and sharing Scottish rivalry, so it's a little strange to see him in the back room of Cambridge's Portland Arms, accompanied only by double bass and violin.
His characteristic self-depreciative wit remains as strong as ever as he beckons the audience to join in singing one tune with the taunt, "Come on then you bastards", which he admits doesn't always go down so well. Luckily tonight the crowd are ready and willing to cater to Malcolm's every whim. There's a large amount of new tracks from the album, 'Sleight Of Heart' in the set, including the sweet, 'Total Belief', 'Week Off' and live favourite, which Malcolm is quick to protest wasn't meant as a comment on drinking culture, 'Blue Plastic Bags'. There are even some tunes hot off the press, including the shuffling and mellow, 'Shadows' and a track called 'Red Travelling Socks', which Malcolm wagers must be the only song to mention the word "sock" so many times. In typical Malcolm style the set reaches its self-declared peak with a b-side, 'Point Of Light', which is a real treat.
The new tracks go down well and the string accompaniment is powerful and passionate, but the stand out tracks have to be songs that have now achieved classic status amongst Middleton fans, such as 'Fuck It I Love You' and 'We're All Going To Die', which receive a new lease of life in their acoustic form. The cover of Madonna's 'Stay' brims with melancholy from the aching strings and is another true highlight. Malcolm's set could not be accused of lacking anything as he even caters to a request for 'Speeding On The M9', but overall it's slightly harder to get into the acoustic set-up, even though Malcolm's wit penetrates even to the back of the crammed room where he's barely in eye sight.