Colin MacIntyre is a Scottish multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer from the Isle Of Mull. He has released albums under the pseudonym of ‘Mull Historical Society’, under his own name and since 2015 has been writing and releasing novels as well. This evening was promoted as an intimate evening of “Songs, stories, readings and Q&A” and in truth it turned out just as advertised.
There`s little fuss as Colin arrives on stage and begins this evening with a reading from his latest novel `An Island Burning`, the second book in his Mull Mysteries Series featuring Sergeant Ivor Punch. The song part begins with the reflective `I Tried` from MHS`s debut album `Loss` which was inspired by the sudden death of his father in 1999 and his upbringing on the Isle of Mull. The emotive `Little Bird` follows which is a number written about Colin`s daughter with a line that really hit home in this stripped back offering being “There`s a shape in my head fits you.” Colin shares a few brief segments where a photograph has inspired his songs before sharing `The Final Arrears` a deeply moving oration/ eulogy based around the passing of his uncle and his wake.
The last two albums, which I was lucky enough to review, `In My Mind There’s A Room` and the more recent ‘In My Mind There’s A Photograph` have featured lyrical contributions from an array of authors and Colin shares a track from `Photograph` with `Dopamine Eyes` from Irvine Welsh, which still remains joyous here in its stripped down form. It`s back in time for `Barcode Bypass` and it`s riposte with `The Supermarket strikes back. The former about a small grocer`s disillusion after being consumed by a larger entity and the latter an uncaring response from the superstore`s point of view.
We are all encouraged to join in on `The lights` before a couple of thoughtful numbers are offered up with `Animal Cannabus` about a care home and `Watching Xanadu` written after the singer saw a homeless lady watching tv through the shop doorway where she had her shelter. A song that has a fairly uplifting vibe although inspired by witnessing difficult circumstances. For me `Five More Minutes` really rang true. It was written about Colin`s father Kenny MacIntyre`s passing and as anybody who has lost a father whom you were close to, all you wish is to spend a little longer with them. Colin shared that his father once suggested that he should name his band The Mull Teasers such was his wit and humour. The Q&A section was brief as there were only two questions about festival shows and his record label. I think we were all more eager to listen to his absorbing songs.
`Gaza on my back` is from the latest release and a contribution from Palestinian poet Jehan Bseiso about her grandfather who had to leave the idyllic beaches of his Gaza homeland only for him to visit it one more time as a war zone at the end of his life. This was the conclusion of the show but as a kind of encore we enjoyed a reading from Colin`s memoir about his first trip to New York with his wife, visiting CBGB`s and meeting David Byrne. He then played `Red Flamed Diamond` from the `A Room` album with surreal lyrics from Stephen Kelman about his romance in The Big Apple.
The contemplative `14 year old boy` is the penultimate number which was recorded in Bernard Butler`s front room before we were left with `Mull Historical Society`.
It`s been around two decades since I last caught Mull Historical Society and if I’m honest after buying the first three albums `Loss`, `Us` and `This is Hope` I kinda lost touch until the `In My Mind There’s A Room` release. Tonight was a wonderfully engaging performance and a tribute to an artist who kept an audience engaged and entertained for one hundred plus minutes with just an acoustic guitar. We learnt a couple of things from Colin tonight, first that there will be another `In My Mind` album and that he will be touring `The Loss` album with a full band and seemed to promise a show in Brum. I for one cannot wait.
