Time for an SLF rethink

There's no easy way of saying this about a band you've followed for thirty years, but SLF are on very thin ice.

First there was a start which kept a near- full house waiting until just before 10pm.

Whatever the delay, it was certainly wasn't sorting out sound issues as the normally decent Robin acoustics were, quite frankly, all over the place in the first few numbers.

Add to that a 'by-the-numbers' setlist, freshened up only here and there – Safe as Houses being a rare treat – from the same show they've been hawking for several years now.

Then there's Jake Burns himself; cantankerous, overweight and dressed like Jimmy Nail in Crocodile Shoes. Not good.

The saving grace, as ever, was the undoubted quality of the band's back catalogue.

Songs like Suspect Device and Alternative Ulster still stir the soul, but it was hard to escape the feeling over a band going through the motions, with the honourable exception of energetic bassist Ali McMordie.

Nevertheless, with a fiercely loyal following and plenty of inflammable material to draw on, the future should be secure.

But they need to have a rethink – new arrangements, new approach, new material – and really go for it.

By Keith Harrison.

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