Act: Gerry Cinnamon
Venue: Caird Hall, Dundee
Date: 13 December 2018

December is always a great time for gigs and concerts with bands and artists keen to finish off the year promoting a new album, best of or playing just for the hell of it.

Looking back on the year is something we all do, for better or worse, but for Gerry Cinnamon that’ll be something else, night and day doesn’t even come close…

A self released album, Erratic Cinematic in late 2017, followed by being the first unsigned singer/ songwriter to sell out the famous Glasgow Barrowland, inducted into the same venue’s Hall of Fame, headlining TRNSMT, supporting The Courteeners and selling out his own gigs across the length and breadth of the UK and Ireland.

Phew!

He is without doubt the hottest Scottish talent doing the rounds right now, though you’d not know it with the laconic attitude he takes when on stage (and that’s a good thing). The easy pulse of KC & The Sunshine Band’s “Give It Up” sends the crowd into a good time vibe, before the main performer hits the stage. Resplendent in blue and with only a guitar for company, GC launches into “Sometimes”, bouncing around the stage as the crowd almost take over the lyrics, surging forward and back, chaotic pandemonium ensues.

The main floor is awash with everyone dancing, grooving, high-fiving strangers and fist-pumping as they sing along to every single song. Cinnamon is a phenomenon, his rise to the top is truly breathtaking and he’s currently riding on the crest of a wave perfectly capturing the zeitgeist. A pause, just, for What Have You Done Son, slows matters just a smidgeon, with its “la-la-la, da-da-da” refrain echoing around the Caird Hall.

A brief interlude sees the crowd chanting I Wanna Be Adored by the Stone Roses and Cinnamon is only too happy to partake, the bandleader orchestrating his charges, like puppets on a string.

Belter, Keysies and a ridiculously energetic Discoland bring matters to a close, the audience exhausted, smiling, yet still demanding more. Cinnamon gladly obliges, Diamonds In The Mud with its acerbic take on growing up in Glasgow is the perfect way to end what is a triumphant concert.

John Welsh

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