Blues Reviews: Swing

Dear readers,

I write to you on a lonesome Friday night. My boyfriend is working, and I have nobody to accompany me. So I sit with my little glass of white rum and Diet Coke, and reminisce about last weekend, when Euan and I spent a wonderful, raucous Saturday night at one of our favourite old music joints in Glasgow… Swing.

I will be following the same format for this review as I did for my review of The Record Factory, scoring this stunning little venue on factors such as music, drink and accessibility, in ‘sexy saxophones out of 10’. Let’s go!

Swing is a little basement bar on Hope Street, right in the city centre of Glasgow. Tragically, this means it’s completely inaccessible to wheelchair users, as we entered, gave our names to the bouncer on the door and then immediately descended quite a steep flight of stairs to get in. Reservations aren’t absolutely essential, but highly recommended if you want to be guaranteed a seat. Once downstairs, the bar and toilets are all on one level, and the little dancefloor just a few steps down. Unfortunately, Swing gets 0 sexy saxophones out of 10 for accessibility; a factor which cannot be helped by its basement setting.

The venue itself is small, and striking in its atmosphere. It’s very clear that the owners of Swing have gone to every effort to recreate the look and feel of a speakeasy, from art deco touches in the décor to the little lamps set upon every round wooden table. The crowd there is always fun-loving, up for a drink and a dance. The dress of the patron varies, but tends to err on the side of ‘formal’. Think a mixture of after-work drink attire, men in collared shirts and ladies in little black numbers or occasionally something more elaborate. I’ve gone there wearing both a little red dress and a calf-length lacy gown, and never felt out of place. Whenever bands or acts play there, they’re greeted to warm applause and enthusiastic whoops. Crowd and atmosphere: 10 sexy saxophones out of 10.

Confession time, dear readers; I have never ordered food at Swing. It simply isn’t the venue’s speciality; they are primarily a bar, specialising in cocktails and artisan gins. There is a limited snack menu, and from memory it features olives, hummus and pitta breads, and a £12 cheeseboard for 2. I love cheese, but we find it over-priced when what we really want to spend our money on is the perfect serves of gin. These are beautifully selected 50 ml measures of gin, served in wide, deep glasses with one’s own choice of mixer. I found myself particularly partial to Edinburgh Gin’s Rhubarb and Ginger liqueur, served with tonic water. The cocktail menu is also a bit limited, and pricey; each cocktail costs £8.50. But it’s worth it, for a serving of a very well made Aviator (which tastes like liquid Parma Violet sweets!) or a refreshing Tequila Swing. Drink: 9 sexy saxophones out of 10.

Last Saturday night, we were treated to 2 fantastic musical acts. The first was a singer, a regular feature, although I can’t for the life of me remember her name. She sits at a piano, singing lovely covers of old Nina Simone songs and other bluesy favourites. My favourites are her covers of Amy Winehouse; she too has an effortless quality to her voice that does justice to Amy’s music. She was a very fitting, soothing warm-up for the raucous act to come. The main act of the evening, The Old World News, hit the floor with a bang, not a whimper. They are a 6-piece swing band who have taken up the novelty of playing modern tunes in an old-fashioned style. If you’re a fan of Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, you’ll adore them. The lead guitarist kept the crowds entertained with banter between songs, although some may not have appreciated the blue jokes he made about R. Kelly before an admittedly fun cover of ‘Ignition’. For me though, the star of the show is the group’s trumpeter. Every solo from him is an absolute joy to listen to; fast, complex and exhilarating. People quickly filled up the tiny dancefloor and danced happily to The Old World News’ jaunty covers of songs like Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’ and Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’. Music: 10 sexy saxophones out of 10.

At least now, as I sit alone at my laptop on another Friday night, I can look back and think about the gloriously raucous and boozy night at one of my favourite city centre swing joints.

Thanks for reading,

Rebecca