Gig review: James Yorkston, Oram Mor, Glasgow

A DECADE on from arriving seemingly from nowhere – though actually having cut his teeth in bands in Edinburgh – James Yorkston, the pride of Pittenweem, is revisiting the debut solo album Moving Up Country which quietly and impressively helped to make his name.

This low-key show was one of a handful of gigs to coincide with the tenth anniversary deluxe re-issue.

The recording was sparse enough but this rendition was virtually skeletal – just Yorkston and an acoustic guitar – all the better to appreciate its lovely storytelling qualities and Yorkston’s fine acoustic blues picking.

Yorkston was entirely at ease with such an exposed set-up, imparting anecdotes with the same unhurried but absorbing quality as his music. The soothing and contented opening number, In Your Hands, was a favourite with his daughter, he said. We were treated to a burst of her alternative version, involving cows. The mellifluous, easygoing title track was introduced as a Status Quo song for his own amusement. He improvised a Jubilee-inspired conversation with the Queen about her surprising football allegiances.

But if Yorkston was feeling in any way straitjacketed by playing the same old songs in the same old order when he actually has a new album to be enthusiastic about, it wasn’t apparent. His engaging performance gave equal weight to the sweetness, thoughtfulness and wit woven through these modern rhythmic folk songs, which though mostly downbeat were never depressing – not even the relatively strident closing number about alcoholism.

Rating: ***