This is the kit

I meet Rachel, Dom and Maddie at the Nicholson Cafe. The current Covid regulations appear to have passed Rachel and Dom by, so we spend half an hour downloading apps and verifying identities so they can prove that they’ve been vaccinated. In the end, Isaac has to cycle up from Stockbridge with some ID for Dom.

Gordie is waiting outside the Queens Hall. We get through security eventually - although they look inside my bag and insist on opening the book I’m carrying. They won’t tell me why.

The support band is Noona Honan (extra) - a four piece with female vocal, rhythm and bass guitars, and male lead and drums. Noona has an excellent voice; the bass is solid and lyrical; the lead has an excellent vibrato; drums is subtle. So good, in fact, that I comply with their imprecations to buy the album and a T at their “merch” stall.

This Is The Kit are on next. Again a four piece, with the same gender break down. Kate is on form - loquacious. She’s playing mostly tracks from Off Off On, but there’s a decent handful of old school crowd pleasers too: Silver John, a solo version of Spinney, Bashed Out and Earthquake. For the more recent fans, there’s Bullet Proof, Hotter Colder, Moonshine Freeze.

The guitarist, Neil Smith, is quite a performer himself. He’s clearly been around the block and can get noises out of the guitar that are more alt/punk/garage than you’d expect from listening to their albums. They just let him rip on a couple of tracks (possibly a notch or two louder in the mix than was comfortable). The girls climbed up onto a riser, facing him, keeping a solid rhythm. At one point they turned to each other, shared a joke, and cracked up.

A great gig - and they’ll be back in January for Celtic Connections!