Hue and Cry, Paisley Town Hall. Sat 26th March 2016

The support act was Emily Middlemass, with a young backing band of teenagers, none of whom would have had any chance of being served alcohol at the bar. No pics because it felt really awkward to photograph her. She is 15/16 and looks about thirteen. She has a good pop voice and a rock/ pop sound, writes her own material, which is teen catchy, and has appeared on the X Factor, but it felt wholly inappropriate for a late-forty-odd male to be excited by her. I had to look away as she sat on the edge of the stage, fearing a Britney Spears exposure moment. Aside from a misfire finale of The Killers 'All These Things I've Done' (her only cover), she rocked the town hall. Early days for her, though. I may revisit when it's legal.

I was a big fan of Hue and Cry in the eighties and early nineties, seeing them perform in all sizes of venues, but lost my way after Stars Crash Down. Tonight the Kane brothers brought the full band to Paisley.Their show was a fair mix of all their stuff: the early pop classics, the Hue and Cry faves. to some newer jazzy stuff I'd not heard before.

I wasn't sure what to make of the audience. At first, I thought they were just Paisley punters there because it was in Paisley but not necessarily fans. I was surprised that so many sang along. The older stuff worked better, being more familiar. When they played the newer stuff a noticeable chunk of the audience made their way to the toilets or the bar for an empty/refill. Surrounded a mix of males and females of an older age group, I became aware tonight of the function of a beer belly - to rest one's pint on, with lots of men adopting this cosy position.

I didn't rate the trumpet player or the guitarist but the rest of the band were solid. Pat Kane's ego could fill any hall and he still gives a great performance, belting out the tunes and jerking his moves to the music. The sound was a little too loud for the venue (a bit distorted and screechy at times) and my ears are still ringing and probably will be for days. They gave us an hour and a half which was fine for Paisley.

Thank you to Jackie Mills for finding me a ticket after the gig sold out. It's lovely when a customer can repay your years of caring service with a favour. Cheers, Jackie.

Adele, SSE Hydro, Glasgow. Fri 25th March 2016.

From the gods of the Hydro three rows from the roof, I enjoyed tonight's Adele concert. Unlike the Marillion lyrics of my youth, I cannot recite the words to every one of her songs but most of the audience (girls, gays and boyfriends, mostly) could. She has a great voice and a genuine affection for her audience. The sound in the auditorium was really sharp, at least until the encore when a bit of echo crept in.

I noted a lot of the females around me (just generally) really felt touched (not by me) emotionally (drunk?), as if her words were really speaking to them and I don't mean the occasional 'shit, fuck' that peppered her between-song chats.

She is very open with her audience, wiggling waves at them while singing, engaging and friendly, even autographing a boy's chest on stage while his boyfriend took pictures, then selfies and hugs.

It's a deceptively simple show (no support act) focusing on her and her songs. She doesn't have a lot of dance numbers in her back catalogue which didn't stop one girl a couple of rows in front of me doing her best impression of a forecourt inflatable sign, arms flapping in the air randomly while holding a half-empty plastic beer cup; or the mother, whose seven (?) year old daughter brought her cuddly rabbit, who rocked and pointed like Mo Farah to the music at any opportunity. I mock them only because I am too reserved to show any dance moves beyond tapping my feet and occasionally swaying. Plus there was the fear of falling. And I have a cold. But I'm getting off the point.

She is who she is and she gave a good two and a half hours tonight. The staging was clever and not too showy. Not many 27-year-olds in the music biz can match her for personality, ability and talent. You wouldn't want to mess with her. So well done Adele.

Setlist

Hello

Hometown Glory

One and Only

Rumour Has It

Water Under the Bridge

I Miss You

Skyfall

Million Years Ago

Don't You Remember

Send My Love (to Your New Lover)

Make You Feel My Love (Bob Dylan cover)

Sweetest Devotion

Chasing Pavements

Someone Like You

Set Fire to the Rain

Encore:

All I Ask

When We Were Young

Rolling in the Deep