A chance to play in Perth was always going to be an exercise in diplomacy from as proud and mischievous a Dundonian as Ricky Ross.
The Deacon Blue frontman’s presently on the road with his one-man show in support of his recently released eighth solo album Short Stories Vol 2, and colourful yarns both of a musical and a spoken word variety were firmly in order on Wednesday night.
Don’t be fooled…
His career away from the Dignity legends enjoys only a fraction of the limelight routinely afforded his band, so anyone who hasn’t seen Ross on his tod previously could be forgiven for anticipating a suitably earnest set from a serious-minded troubadour.
Perhaps the sight of just a piano and an acoustic guitar on Perth Theatre’s blackened main house stage, bereft of the slightest adoration, heightened that impression pre-gig, but the reality was the polar opposite.
Shorn of his bandmates James, Lorraine, Dougie and Gregor, the songsmith brought bundles of warmth and charm plus, crucially, a lethal sense of humour to his most unlikely of midweek parties.
A strum-tastic Good Evening Philadelphia set the Dundee United follower’s ball rolling, drolly declaring afterwards in the hushed setting, “See that walk between the guitar and the piano, it’s awkward if the applause doesn’t carry on.”
More Sameul Beckett than Johnny Cash
Besuited and bespectacled for the occasion, Ross, 64, came over more Samuel Beckett than Johnny Cash, but the rapport with his audience was immediate, strengthened by an invitation to join in on vocals on a sumptuous rendition of Deacon Blue hit Wages Day.
Self-deprecation abounded as Ricky “warned” his respectful listeners that he’d be reading passages from his new autobiography, offering the chance to slip away quietly – but no one was ever likely to take up that offer.
“The Scotland game’s on the telly, so you’re probably safer here anyway,” he quipped as he delivered the first in a clutch of extracts touching on his life away from pop’s glare – all with a Dundee theme – that were both fun-filled and poignant in equal measure.
New songs unveiled
Having transcended the mythical Carse of Gowrie divide, he managed to reference Perth and its wider county bounds in the windswept Still Walking, one of the new songs he unveiled.
Among the best of these were the playfully upbeat Spanish Shoes, “a lockdown anthem” he told us, and the more introspective All Dressed Up, a tribute to his late mum Catherine, who was a teacher at his school Forthill Primary.
Other highlights included one of the few guitar-led efforts She Gets Me Inside, co-written with Ronan Keating, and superbly reworked DB favourites Back Here In Beanoland and Love And Regret.
A measured assurance
In the hands of a lesser performer the gig’s reflective nature could easily have tipped over into sentimentality, but everything Ricky does has a measured assurance borne out of hard-earned experience in stagecraft going back four decades.
The best accolade I can give him is that it was almost like being in the presence of an endearingly witty – not to mention talented – old friend for the best part of a couple of hours.
