Glen Matlock Band
100 Club, London, UK
March 7, 2020
Glen Matlock is a member of a pretty select club, that of the (S)ex Pistols, and that tumultuous time of '76/77 has defined him and his musical output ever since.
"Good to Go", his most recent album, has been out for a while now, and while it’s no landmark release, it is a sturdy collection, and has reunited Matlock with ex-Bowie sideman Earl Slick for a short UK tour before a planned US jaunt (cut down now by coronavirus.)
On one of old stomping grounds, Matlock is both confident and laid-back, a genial frontman with a cheeky chappy line in banter. "Won’t Put The Brakes on Me" lopes along in Nick Lowe fashion, while "Wanderlust" is defiant and punchy. Slick, by name and by nature, is ramping up the rock star imagery while wailing blues style on the sinister "Hook in You" and "Sexy Beast" is a finger-snapping rockabilly honker.
"Montague Terrace", a Scott Walker composition, is sparse and haunting, allowing the song to breathe. Matlock’s vocals are postcodes distant from the belligerent Rotten sneer, but work well on this material, including a lusty stomp through "Blank Generation", echoing Richard Hell.
"On Something" has a melody line that sneaks in and sleeps in your spare room, and shares some DNA with the encore number. The Small Faces’ "All or Nothing", a riotous romp.
The show has been a bit light on Pistols material (Matlock cowrote 10 of the 12 tracks on "Bollocks") but we do get a rambunctious stab at "Pretty Vacant", lagers thrust in the air.
Matlock is a diamond geezer, playing what he wants, when he wants, and is thankfully unlikely to pop up on "I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here", or flog us butter.
