CMAT knows how to make an entrance. The opening of this show, in common with the rest of her tour, featured her band assembling onstage before a spotlight was suddenly shone on the back of the room – and there was Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, in a vivid green outfit and snazzy spectacles, standing on a raised section usually home to seats.
It was a fitting entrance that could have nestled on the silver screen alongside the varied tunes from films played over the PA before the gig started. Thompson is an undoubted star these days, a charismatic and energetic mega watt performer. This gig, part of a three night sold out stint in Glasgow and rescheduled from last year after illness, possessed three key qualities – Thompson's star power, a selection of banging tunes and, crucially, a human factor that makes her feel relatable.
It was there in the many, many instances where she interacted with the crowd, and also in the sheer devotion she generated from those fans. One person even passed her a pair of shoes with "Have Fun!" written on it, which she cavorted about with during the song of the same name – one of her most zestful numbers. "I could just keep these and really fuck up your night" she joked afterward, but she didn't, of course, because everyone in the building was in this one together.
That sense of unity went right across to the bar staff, given a shout-out by Thompson during a raucous "I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby!", and who responded by waving and shuffling along to the country two step she then kick-started, with a mass of bodies on the dancefloor moving in unison.
Such antics could almost be overwhelming, the amount of chat and actions onstage, from getting her band to freeze frame comically during the pop sashay of "I Don't Really Care For You" to asking two of her backing band to provide an interpretive dance showing how nervous everyone felt before playing Glastonbury's Pyramid stage last year.
In just under two hours there were only 13 songs, the rest of the time taken up with various chat and digression, from a snippet of Texas song "Inner Smile" to some ruminations on not winning a Brit award recently. Those with less time for chat might have preferred a few songs strung together, rather than regular interruptions, but the sheer force of personality made the gig feel like a pal was having a blether between songs, even with a couple of thousand folk there.
Thompson herself was having a great time, stomping across stage one moment, striking a dramatic pose the next. There was even some panto cries of "behind you" when she pretended to forget about keyboardist Colm Conlan during band introductions, and slapstick larking about as she tried to put on a bra chucked onstage at her. That wasn't the only item presented to her, as there were various notes, a Saltire and a brooch marking the wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles in 1981 offered up. The latter, from a lesbian couple due to be married, had replaced the future monarch with CMAT herself.
The combination of earthy humour and showy pizzazz is a winning one, but the songs are still essential. Thankfully, they deliver, with the bulk coming from last year's EURO-COUNTRY album, from the country styling of "When A Good Man Cries" to the disco dancefloor groove underpinning the terrific "Tree Six Foive", a testament to the rhythms of her excellent backing band, a well honed machine all night.
Thompson's voice was also terrific, a soulful and powerful weapon that reminded you of the pathos and wit running through her songs, as well as the japes. A lengthy "Running/Planning" closed the main set on a defiant note, a vibe that carried over into the encore's finale of a partying "Stay For Something" that put the venue's bouncy floor to good use, Thompson among the, by now very sweaty, crowd.
Prior to that there had been time for Thompson to say that she and her band could be both silly and also believe in important issues, citing Palestine and transgender rights to huge cheers. It was delivered, like everything else, with sincerity, adding a dose of real life realism to this life affirming performance. Seconds later though, and Thompson had popped her shades back on before disappearing with her band into the night by way of a conga line offstage. A joyous show.
