With Greg Kane

February 2025
Toto
Christopher Cross
Saturday 1st February 6:30pm
OVO Hydro
The excitement is off the scale. Two of the biggest 80’s American yacht rock icons touring together and coming to Glasgow. I don’t know where to start! Toto’s lead singer, Joseph Williams is the son of Steven Spielberg’s film composer of choice, John Williams (E.T., Jaws, etc). Between these two acts they have sold over 100 million records with Grammys, Oscars, Golden Globes and Emmys peppered throughout their 45 year careers. Toto’s guitarist, Steve Lukather played on Michael Jackson’s ‘Human Nature’. Christopher Cross wrote his huge global hit “Ride Like the Wind” whilst under the influence of LSD… it also has the redoubtable singer Michael MacDonald in the choruses… ah the excesses of the 80’s. I watched some recent live video footage of them, yes there may be a bit too much hair products, LA rock jewellery and Axel Arigato trainers on show, but they sure can still play their skinny wee legs off.
Choice Track: Christopher Cross – ‘Ride Like The Wind’
Zaho de Sagazan
Sunday 23rd February 7pm
Warehouse, SWG3
This young French singer has shot to fame in little over a year. Although she did start posting cover songs to Instagram back in 2015 when she was just 16. She has won multiple awards at the prestigious Victoires de la Musique 2024 for Best Song, Album, Live Performance and Best Female Artist. She performed at the opening of the Cannes Film Festival in 2024 playing a cover of Bowie’s ‘Modern Love’. And she also played at the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics last year too.
Her music is best described as Chanson Française: Lyric-driven French song. Originating in Medieval France, it enjoyed a renaissance in the mid/late 20th century with singers like Edith Piaf, Serge Gainsbourg, Juliette Greco, Gilbert Bécaud being it’s most notable proponents and now it’s back in favour again thanks to Saha de Sagazan. The French love this stuff. It instills a sense of pride in them and they have taken Zaho de Sagazan to their hearts. But her music is not retro in any way. She has a love of electro… there are synthesisers all over her music and she’s just as happy throwing herself around to French house music as she is emoting around a piano.
I like to holiday in France, I look forward to hearing Zaho de Sagazan’s music in every shop, restaurant, cafe and hotel lobby next year. She has reinvented the French love song x
Choice Track: Zaho de Sagazon – ‘La symphonie des éclairs’
Fat Dog
Friday 28th February 7pm
Queen Margaret Union (QMU)
Fat Dog are a 5 piece English electro/punk band, consisting of Joe Love (vocals/guitar), Chris Hughes (keys), Morgan Wallace (keys/sax), Jacqui Wheeler (bass) and Johnny ‘Doghead’ Hutch (drums). The band formed in 2020 in South East London. This is ambitious music. It sounds as tho it was made for 2am festival clubs. A single song can contain a thrash punk section, a reggae section, an oompah section, with ritardando and accelerando sections too. It’s as tho they’re worried that the audience will lose interest if they don’t do something dramatic and often. But it is impressive. A few critics have grumbled that they’re a bit late to the party, but the production on their debut album ‘Woof’ is taken care of by heavy hitting producer James Ford (Artic Monkeys, Depeche Mode, Gorillaz etc)… it’s sonically amazing.
I keep feeling you make a rod for your own back playing this type of music tho, how do you develop? Where do you go from here? You’ve packed so much diversity into one record that there’s nowhere left to go. I guess it’s the young’n’s short attention spans they are having to navigate.
Time will tell where Fat Dog end up, but they’ve made an accomplished start.
Choice Track: Fat Dog – “King of The Slugs”
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