Review: World Turned Upside Down - Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

IN A week of small but arguably landmark blows against The Man, this concert, which took its name from not one but two protest songs, sought to celebrate music’s power to engage with social struggle by tapping into contrasting world traditions.

Host Karine Polwart opened with a short set of original lyrical laments, in which she chided Trump and Trident and saluted the Occupy St Paul’s campaigners.

As a veteran of the native American occupation of Alcatraz in the early Seventies, the poet and activist John Trudell is no stranger to direct action. His set felt like a counter-culture throwback, teaming his spoken word ruminations with burnished blues, country and acid rock backing and tribal ululations.

His fellow native American, Pura Fe, also making her Scottish debut, offered a ballsier, more accessible take on the indigenous blues, shot through with a percussive groove.

The gracious Palestinian singer and oud player Kamilya Jubran posed more of a challenge with her free settings of texts by Middle Eastern poets.

Of all the participants, Chris Wood conformed most readily to the prevailing western image of a protest singer, with the stinging wit and conversational eloquence of his timeless yet timely set, although hometown boy Justin Currie’s lyrical barbs flew just as righteously.

However, the sad irony was that, despite the common humanity exhibited by all these musicians, this was a fragmented affair with little to really stir the emotions or galvanise the audience.

RATING: **