Tuesday, 24 November 2015

Judas Priest, 'Redeemer of Souls' Tour 2015, Glasgow Barrowland. Tues 24th Nov 2015


Unlike Tom Russell, I don't think Judas Priest were sensational tonight at the Barrowlands. They were good, but a number of things counted against them: they only played for 90 minutes and Rob Halford had a tendency to remain off stage at the start of numbers while he changed his jacket (which he did for every song). It felt odd to hear the singer and scan the stage to look for him only to find him wander on a few lines into the song. Maybe there was a reason for it. Maybe he was just tired. Or lazy. Or old. I was disappointed by the way he engaged the audience. He never spoke to us until forty minutes in and it took another twenty to address us directly, his Glasgow audience. He strutted the stage like a WWE wrestler, arm aloft, waving his hand to cajole the audience to love him, which we did. Then he'd pop off during some of the guitar solos, rather than interact with the audience or the band. His voice was in fine tune though. I felt he phoned it in a bit tonight though. The younger guitarist was fantastic and the band sound was great so it wasn't all bad.

The support act Michael Schenker's Temple of God are a tight outfit. Their lead singer, Doogie White (who's also sung with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow and Yngwie Malmsteen) is an experienced frontman with all the rock moves. At 55 years old, he confessed to the crowd that this was his first time playing the Barrowland and, as a local boy from Motherwell, he felt proud. They kicked off their set with UFO's 'Doctor Doctor', one of my favourite rock songs and the audience loved it too. They also played other UFO songs, some of their own and 'Rock You Like a Hurricane' by The Scorpions. A great band and a shame they only got 45 mins.

Highlights of the gig for me were: the last track played over the PA before Priest came on stage was 'Black Sabbath' by Black Sabbath. The lights dimmed as it started giving the crowd a sense of anticipation and then everyone began to sing along as one. Memorable, given it wasn't a Sabbath gig; the song 'Breaking the Law' - as it started, the youngsters in the crowd, of which there were a few, kicked off a mosh pit about five feet from me. So much energy bouncing around as they flew at one another and into the audience around them. It was wild: a mix of sweat, alcohol and aggression, boiling up in a circle. I thought one young lad was going to erupt into violence as he stared then lunged towards someone, only to be hugged and calmed down by his mate, who then shoved him away to kick off another bout of moshing. Wonderful stuff and amusing to watch security eye them for trouble.

'Living After Midnight' was great but my favourite tune of the night was 'Turbo Lover', just because it's a great anthem, it's easy to sing along to and I know most of the words. My voice is hoarse tonight.

This was the second time I've seen Judas Priest (the last time was at the Edinburgh Playhouse in the 80s) and I think that will be enough. I'm glad I went for the experience.

It still feels weird to leave the Barrowland not stinking of cigarette smoke with a voice two octaves lower.

Setlist
War Pigs (Black Sabbath song) (tape)
Battle Cry (tape)
Dragonaut
Metal Gods
Desert Plains
Victim of Changes
Halls of Valhalla
The Rage
Turbo Lover
Redeemer of Souls
Beyond the Realms of Death
Screaming for Vengeance
Breaking the Law
Hell Bent for Leather

Encore:
The Hellion (tape)
Electric Eye
You've Got Another Thing Comin'

Encore 2:
Painkiller
Living After Midnight
Beginning of the End (tape)






Sunday, 8 November 2015

Vintage Trouble, Glasgow Barrowland. Sun 8th Nov 2015


Another night, another gig: this time Vintage Trouble at the Barrowland.

Vintage Trouble are a hard-working band. In five years they've circumnavigated the globe five times playing their blues rock music with a gin joint twist. Having recently released their second album, 1 Hopeful Road, this is their largest headline tour of the UK, having previously supported Paloma Faith and AC/DC earlier this year. This is the third time I've seen them.

The frontman Ty Taylor has the swagger of Jagger and the moves of a young James Brown and dances a whirlwind not just around the stage but all over the hall. He spent a great deal of the show among the crowd, dancing with the ladies, crowd surfing from the back of the hall to the stage and getting everyone to crouch lower and lower until everyone was practically sitting on the floor. It was as if he'd used a giant ball to make a dent in the crowd, using the force of his personality to drive even the elderly to follow his dance moves down. The rest of the band are a tight outfit, but Ty is the energy. I think the reason I preferred this gig to last night's U2 gig is down to that energy. Both Bono and Ty had the crowd in the palms of the hands, but Bono was more like an elder statesman, respected for his past, his values and his ability, whereas Ty grabbed the crowd's attention and refused to stop until he owned everyone in the hall.

It left me on a high. Maybe that was because I was shaking my hips and generally boogying. Sadly no photos of this horrific sight. You'll just have to make do with these.

Setlist
Soul Serenity
Blues Hand Me Down
Angel City, California
Nancy Lee
Before the Tear Drops
Doin' What You Were Doin'
Another Man's Words
Shows What You Know
Nobody Told Me
You Better Believe It
Not Alright by Me

Encore:
Strike Your Light
Run Like the River
Pelvis Pusher









Saturday, 7 November 2015

Friday, 2 October 2015

Doug Stanhope, 02 Academy, Glasgow Fri 2nd Oct 2015


Doug Stanhope, appearing at the O2 Academy in Glasgow on Friday night, was on good form. I've seen him deliver excellent gigs and very poor gigs and tonight was definitely one of his better performances.

His material (both verbal and his stage costume) needed a strong stomach, as he regularly turned political correctness on its head. He knows his audience will go with him across that line in the sand to drink at the oasis beyond bad taste. Or leave. Whatever. He doesn't care. They've already paid. No refunds. I won't share his actual routines because I like my salary.

The show felt like a club gig, despite being held in a concert space with its high ceiling and echoey acoustics; despite the narrow rows of chairs facing the stage instead of tables; and despite there being a noisy balcony. Because the bar stayed open throughout, there was chatter within the auditorium for the whole of the gig. This also meant every inebriated, bearded youth had two reasons to get everyone in their row to stand up and let them out - one to go piss and another to get a refill. Narrows rows and wobbly boys carrying multiple pint pots don't mix well. I noticed one young lad stare incredulously as one pint (of the three he held wedged in both hands) spilled over his vacant seat. He stood for what seemed like ages, wondering how he was going to dry it so he could sit down. This during the gig. With rows and rows of people getting their view blocked as he considered the task ahead. He finally decided just to soak it up with his bum. Wriggle, wriggle. Ahhhh. Just another Friday night in Glasgow.

I loved the gig but hated the audience. There were too many drunken louts having conversations (you don't have to provide a background commentary to your mates: if you find it funny just laugh); or shouting out (not proper heckles, just random nonsense) to impress their also drunk mates. Doug is a time-served comedian capable of handling any audience trouble and tonight he dealt with the interruptions proficiently or just ignored them and continued with his bits. The show lasted nearly two hours, only once having to be halted due to an incident, near the end of his opening 'bit'.

It's the first time I've ever been to a comedy gig where a proper fight broke out, in front of the comedian. One combatant was tall with short brown hair and wore a black leather jacket; the other, sitting in the row in front of him, had a shoulder length perm and was the size of a fridge (which he probably emptied regularly). As the two sluggers wrestled and punched away, the audience lights went up so everyone could watch as their mates attempted to pull the two apart with difficulty, occasionally landing a blow themselves when the other party escaped his mates' bonds and lunged to have another go. As the rows were so narrow, the bouncers had to get the audience to rise to let them past on their way to reach the trouble makers, then ask them all to shuffle out so they could remove the offending party. Permy-hair bloke got to stay and we never did find out what started it.

Doug commented it was the first time his audience had beaten him to a punchline - with an actual punch. He was also able to relate the individual to his now interrupted mental health routine, which won a big cheer and applause.

Doug's comedy may not be classy but it is in a class of its own, just like his audience.

Saturday, 12 September 2015

Ross Mackenzie, Tidelines Book Festival, Lounge, Largs. Sat 12th Sept 2015


There's nothing quite like listening to an enthusiastic children's author for rekindling your passion for books and stories. Thank you, Ross Mackenzie, and the Tidelines team, for a great event yesterday in Largs.
In case you've never heard of him, Ross is from Renfrew and has had two children's books published, the more recent of which "The Nowhere Emporium" has been nominated for the 2016 Scottish Children's Book Awards. I loved the book. His gift for elegant description is a thing of beauty and the story is thrilling.
It was very clever of him to get the audience to offer suggestions for rooms detailed in the Book Of Wonders, the best of which may appear in the sequel (when he writes it). I suggested a room, with fancy wallpaper, that appeared otherwise empty. In actual fact, it contained a chameleon creature called a Scaredy Boo. When you walked around the room it would sneak up behind you and loudly go 'Boo' then scurry away to hide as you recovered from your fright.
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Another aspect of yesterday's talk that I was impressed by was the fact that the local power company had sponsored the event in order that every child present could receive a free copy of his book, They were also donating copies to all the local schools. (I already had a copy so didn't take another.) This was amazing (the free books bit, not that I didn't take another).
I also loved that we got to hear the world exclusive reading of the first chapter of his new book, due out next year. It will make you think again about that spider on the wall, watching you.
Stories for children are not just for children. They are for anyone who still remembers the child inside them (so I say anyway).

Sunday, 28 June 2015

AC/DC, 'Rock or Bust' World Tour, Hampden Park, Glasgow. Thurs 28th June 2015


Ears still buzzing after AC/DC at Hampden. Quite a crush in the standing section, but it stayed dry until the encore (if you exclude sweaty bods). The gig was outstanding. Support act, Vintage Trouble, were really good too.

Setlist
Rock or Bust
Shoot to Thrill
Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be
Back in Black
Play Ball
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Thunderstruck
High Voltage
Rock 'n' Roll Train
Hells Bells
Baptism by Fire
You Shook Me All Night Long
Sin City
Shot Down in Flames
Have a Drink on Me
T.N.T.
Whole Lotta Rosie
Let There Be Rock (with Angus Young guitar solo on a raised platform in the crowd)

Encore:
The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond ([traditional] cover)
Highway to Hell (with Angus Young guitar solo intro)
For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)


Pre-gig nourishment with Bob and Julie