Gig review: Arab Strap - Nice ’n’ Sleazy, Glasgow

All night Moffat’s words undercut the sense of occasion a reunion implies. It was just two old mates teaming up to play some songs in tribute to their favourite bar, with Sleazy’s having enjoyed the pleasure of Moffat’s company for 20 years.

So this secret gig under the disguise of “William Harness” was not a precursor to a big reunion, despite Middleton’s mischievous hint at show’s end that “it’s not like it’s one more song ever”. Indeed, the pair have turned down a five-figure sum to perform in February, said Moffat, “much to the confusion of our wives and partners”. The sense of nostalgia dousing these songs was real and unpackaged, their autobiographical nature giving Moffat the impression he was revisiting his own misspent youth as he sang them.

Their most vitriolic songs – Packs of Three, Blood, Piglet – were given tender acoustic treatments, while the already mournful likes of The Shy Retirer and To All a Good Night seemed especially resonant and enduring in this setting. Finally, the inevitable The First Big Weekend was recited from a lyric sheet with commentary from Moffat (“what a thing to call somebody”, on vitriolic mention of the word “pig”), and they were gone with a promise to return when Sleazy’s hits 40.

Rating: ****