My Darling Clementine
Venue: The Central Bar
Town: Gateshead
Date: 25th July 2025
Website: https://mydarlingclementinemusic.co.uk/
It was a while since I had been to The Central Bar and was reminded what a cosy bar and intimate, upstairs performance space it is.
There was a lot of warmth in the room (in more ways than one; the air conditioning became the ongoing joke of the evening!) as we were treated to what may be the best MDC gig I have seen.
My Darling Clementine are Lou Dalgliesh and Michael Weston King and they were last seen in our parts last year. This show was on their way up to Scotland for some performance. Unfortunately they'd had what Michael dubbed "a bit of a calamitous day," involving a flat tyre, a broken guitar pedal and an unfinished Chinese takeaway. You wouldn't have known to watch them bantering back and forth between each other and the audience.
Whilst a setlist did exist, it was only loosely referred to, which made for some lovely spontaneous song choices. We were treated to selections from across their catalogue, including; King of the Carnival, Going Back to Memphis, Two Lane Texaco and my favourite of all of their songs, Friday Night at The Tulip Hotel, which they relayed was written at a not very salubrious hotel in Rotterdam. Elvis (Costello) left the building after Either Side of the Same Town and Indoor Fireworks, to allow Michael Weston King, solo performer, take central stage for The Hardest Thing of All and The Weight of The World. For the latter, I was mesmerised watching how Lou created a "dark" sound with the keyboard. There was also their take on Dolly Parton's Jolene, as Lou quipped that we haven't heard Jolene's side of the story - until now.
Somewhat unexpectedly, Lou said that although it was very hard to do, she wanted to perform a particular song, since it was nearly a year to the day since the tragic incident in Southport last summer. For those who don't know, their six year old granddaughter, Bebe, was one of the children who sadly died. I had heard the song before, online, but nothing prepared me for hearing it live. How Lou got through it I will never know, but through her tears and ours she sent the most beautiful tribute imaginable, out to little Bebe, who I am absolutely sure was in that room with us. You could hear the held breath around the room; it was like being in church - no one wanted to break the moment. For the second time in a week, I was sat, in a gig, at the end of a song, with tears streaming down my face. I was in awe that she was able to invite us in to something so personal, to share their traumatic experience, let us meet Bebe, through her song, and all with such raw emotion, courage, humility and grace. Sometimes, music, songs and live performances just hit different - I will never forget those four minutes.
The night was brought to a close with an upbeat delivery of Your Cheating Heart, before, as always, they took the time to chat with those familiar and new and thank them for coming; they are really lovely, down to earth humans.
Thank you Lou, Michael and Owain (the promoter) for a fabulous evening. (I hope you got the tyre and pedal sorted!)
Michael promised me that despite the smaller crowd this time, they'll keep coming if we do, so I shall hold him to that and say I will look forward to seeing you both soon, when you're Going back to Gateshead!
I am also going to take the liberty of adding the donation link for the charity their family set up in Bebe's name - to support children through grief - should you feel compelled to donate as we approach the anniversary. Bebe's Hive CIC ?? ?? - JustGiving
Helen Mitchell
My Darling ClementineIt was a while since I had been to The Central Bar and was reminded what a cosy bar and intimate, upstairs performance space it is.
There was a lot of warmth in the room (in more ways than one; the air conditioning became the ongoing joke of the evening!) as we were treated to what may be the best MDC gig I have seen.
My Darling Clementine are Lou Dalgliesh and Michael Weston King and they were last seen in our parts last year. This show was on their way up to Scotland for some performance. Unfortunately they'd had what Michael dubbed "a bit of a calamitous day," involving a flat tyre, a broken guitar pedal and an unfinished Chinese takeaway. You wouldn't have known to watch them bantering back and forth between each other and the audience.
Whilst a setlist did exist, it was only loosely referred to, which made for some lovely spontaneous song choices. We were treated to selections from across their catalogue, including; King of the Carnival, Going Back to Memphis, Two Lane Texaco and my favourite of all of their songs, Friday Night at The Tulip Hotel, which they relayed was written at a not very salubrious hotel in Rotterdam. Elvis (Costello) left the building after Either Side of the Same Town and Indoor Fireworks, to allow Michael Weston King, solo performer, take central stage for The Hardest Thing of All and The Weight of The World. For the latter, I was mesmerised watching how Lou created a "dark" sound with the keyboard. There was also their take on Dolly Parton's Jolene, as Lou quipped that we haven't heard Jolene's side of the story - until now.
Somewhat unexpectedly, Lou said that although it was very hard to do, she wanted to perform a particular song, since it was nearly a year to the day since the tragic incident in Southport last summer. For those who don't know, their six year old granddaughter, Bebe, was one of the children who sadly died. I had heard the song before, online, but nothing prepared me for hearing it live. How Lou got through it I will never know, but through her tears and ours she sent the most beautiful tribute imaginable, out to little Bebe, who I am absolutely sure was in that room with us. You could hear the held breath around the room; it was like being in church - no one wanted to break the moment. For the second time in a week, I was sat, in a gig, at the end of a song, with tears streaming down my face. I was in awe that she was able to invite us in to something so personal, to share their traumatic experience, let us meet Bebe, through her song, and all with such raw emotion, courage, humility and grace. Sometimes, music, songs and live performances just hit different - I will never forget those four minutes.
The night was brought to a close with an upbeat delivery of Your Cheating Heart, before, as always, they took the time to chat with those familiar and new and thank them for coming; they are really lovely, down to earth humans.
Thank you Lou, Michael and Owain (the promoter) for a fabulous evening. (I hope you got the tyre and pedal sorted!)
Michael promised me that despite the smaller crowd this time, they'll keep coming if we do, so I shall hold him to that and say I will look forward to seeing you both soon, when you're Going back to Gateshead!
I am also going to take the liberty of adding the donation link for the charity their family set up in Bebe's name - to support children through grief - should you feel compelled to donate as we approach the anniversary. Bebe's Hive CIC ?? ?? - JustGiving
Helen Mitchell
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