Kiefer Sutherland, Glasgow review: ‘convincing'
From slow ballads to rootsy covers, Kiefer Sutherland looked very much at home in the role of actor-turned-musician, writes David Pollock
It’s a surprise to hear that Hollywood actor turned country-rock singer Kiefer Sutherland cancelled his entire US tour the other day due to “very low ticket sales”, because as far as the UK and especially Scotland is concerned, his music seems to travel successfully. On Saturday night, the spacious Old Fruitmarket was packed with enthusiastic listeners.
Sutherland, sometime teen heartthrob of The Lost Boys and Young Guns films turned television icon as Jack Bauer in 24, is about to release Grey, his fourth album in a decade, and while none have really grazed the US charts, the last two have respectively been top ten and twenty successes in the UK. Here, the gravelly-voiced 59-year-old was backed by a well-composed four-piece band whose playing was mostly meaty and loud, but with moments of delicacy.
After the opening Down Below, his cover of Garbage’s Only Happy When It Rains (a tour staple, not a special selection for Scotland) was characterised by its fast, loud drum rhythm. Come Back Down, on the other hand, was a lovely slow ballad with a rich pedal-steel guitar line behind it. Clearly overjoyed by the warm response, he slipped in autobiographical elements about leaving his home state of 35 years (Goodbye California) and settling on a farm on the East Coast, paying tribute to the agrarian way of life (American Farmer).
There were more rootsy covers of songs Sutherland’s found inspiring (the Marshall Tucker Band’s Can’t You See; Ozzy Osbourne’s See You on the Other Side; Phil Collins’ In the Air Tonight), and while the “songs I sing all start to sound the same” line from touring travelogue Chasing the Rain hit close to the bone with a few more predictable mid-set tracks, a finale featuring the lively Two Stepping in Time, the raucous This is How It’s Done and the party-friendly Friday Night lifted the bouncing crowd.
Throughout, he looked and sounded convincing in the role, which is high praise for any actor-turned-musician.
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