Fish, O2 Academy, Glasgow. Thurs 13th Dec 2018

The audience was predominantly male, bald, fat and bespectacled, much like Fish (and myself).

Nowadays, the pot-bellied rocker uses a lyric folder to remember all the words he wrote all those years ago and his voice is past its best but he's still a great frontman, with the banter and presence of a seasoned barroom stool sitter. The crowd was rowdy but he shut down the calls for 'Grendel' and 'Gies a bun' with humour and aplomb, not letting them get the better of him. He had tales to tell and wasn't going to be interrupted.

This tour was sold as playing Clutching At Straws in its entirety for the first time, plus tracks from the new album 'Weltschmerz' due next year. Breaking up the classic album worked well, mixing in the old with the new. This was my first listen to his new stuff and it sounded a bit like his old stuff, just with different lyrics. Not a lot of variation - there was slow, there was angry, there was waltz, yes, waltz. This tour's gimmick was to ask the audience to dance with each other for 15 seconds during a song called the Trondheim Waltz, grabbing a stranger and whirling round in three time. I cringed as lots of men in black T-shirts obeyed their master and danced with each other. Not me.

The show wasn't a sell-out. The balcony was empty but downstairs was fairly packed. As usual, someone got on my goat, this time a tall, drunk and expressive gentleman who pushed in front of me with his pint then stood blocking my view. Fortunately, he wanted to get closer to the front so he lasted only a couple of songs before moving forward again. Later, a weeble wobbled in front of me as he struggled to bear his own weight, resorting to shifting from side to side blocking me when on his right. A few loud thunder claps from me near his ear, which to be fair was right in front of me, was all the persuasion he needed to shift over.

As a live artist, Fish is nearing his 'use by' date. His back is gubbed, his knees are gone and his voice has minimal range. The backing singer carried a lot of the tunes but I still enjoyed it, especially the encore with Tux On and Incommunicado. It just wasn't anywhere near as special as a Marillion Christmas gig at the Playhouse or Barrowland.

Support was from Doris Brendel and her band. She also sang backing vocals with Fish. Her voice isn't the best either. I probably won't be seeking out her albums.

Setlist

Slàinte Mhath (Marillion song)
Man With A Stick
Hotel Hobbies (Marillion song)
Warm Wet Circles (Marillion song)
That Time of the Night (The Short Straw) (Marillion song)
Little Man What Now
Torch Song (Marillion song)
White Russian (Marillion song)
Just for the Record (Marillion song)
C Song 
Going Under (Marillion song)
Sugar Mice (Marillion song)
Waverley Steps
The Last Straw (Marillion song)

Encore:
Tux On (Marillion song)
Incommunicado (Marillion song)