After my son missed the Steve Mason concert through illness, I felt he deserved another live music outing to make up for it. Rather than dwelling on the gig that got away, I decided the best solution was to buy tickets for something else. Fortunately, The Filthy Tongues were playing in Edinburgh.
Problem solved.
I’ve followed Martin Metcalfe’s work for years, whether through Goodbye Mr Mackenzie, The Filthy Tongues or the various other creative projects he seems incapable of stopping himself from producing. Over time I’ve also been fortunate enough to get to know Martin a little through filming gigs, taking photographs and covering performances for BillyWatson.tv. That familiarity never diminishes my appreciation of the music. If anything, it probably increases it.
The Filthy Tongues have developed a sound all of their own. Dark, cinematic and atmospheric, their music often feels as though it belongs on the soundtrack to a film that hasn’t been made yet. While many bands rely on volume or spectacle, The Filthy Tongues create tension and mood through songwriting, arrangement and sheer presence.
My son had already been exposed to a wide variety of music through years of being dragged to concerts by his father, so I was fairly confident he’d appreciate what the band were doing. Whether he appreciated being used as an excuse for me to attend another gig is a separate question entirely.
As soon as the band took the stage, it was obvious we had made the right decision.
Martin remains one of the most distinctive frontmen in Scottish music. There is an intensity to his performances that immediately draws you in, while the rest of the band provide the perfect backdrop for songs that often feel simultaneously haunting and uplifting. Few groups manage that balancing act successfully.
One of the things I enjoy about seeing The Filthy Tongues live is that every performance seems to create its own atmosphere. Their music rewards attention. The more you immerse yourself in it, the more it reveals. In a world increasingly dominated by short attention spans, there is something refreshing about a band that encourages listeners to slow down and engage fully.
The Edinburgh crowd certainly seemed willing to do exactly that.
Looking back, this concert turned out to be an excellent replacement for the Steve Mason show my son had missed. The circumstances may have been different, but the result was the same: another memorable evening of live music shared together.
In some ways that’s what these gigs are really about. Years from now I doubt either of us will remember every song that was played. What we’ll remember is making the trip, standing in the crowd and experiencing it together.
The videos and photographs below capture some of the evening. If you’ve never explored The Filthy Tongues, I’d strongly recommend giving them a listen. Scotland has produced many great bands over the years, and they deserve to be counted among them.
The Photos
Cheers!
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