GUN, The Big 3-0 Tour - 3 Iconic bands play 3 classic albums, Barrowlands, Glasgow. Saturday, 21st December 2019.

Night two of my trip down memory lane or, in this case, the Gallowgate on my way to the Barrowland Ballroom. 

Tonight, the parking nearby is far worse, mainly because I'm arriving later than last night, having had a tiring, pre-Christmas-rush day at work. I eventually find a space behind a van which is sitting overlapping two parking slots, leaving my car's rear tyres sitting on a double-yellow. I wait to see if the van is going to move anytime soon (its engine is still running) but the pair in the front are listening to music and scrolling through their phones. I head to the venue under a cloud of trepidation in case I get a ticket. The night already has not exactly gone to plan with my wife unable to attend, having been struck down with a lurgy.

Inside, security is light. I'm not even frisked. At the foot of the stairs, my ticket stub is torn off and I'm in. I get a text from a mate saying they are over at the side near the bar. The dancefloor is packed. I should have expected this given there are fans of three bands in the audience. I find a path through the crowd and join my pals. At this point, I've already missed the first act, FM, and Dan Reed Network is setting up. 

The upside to being near the bar is the height boost from the step allowing a better view over all the heads between you and the stage. The downside is the flow of people passing in front of you on their way to and from the bar. 

I'm wasn't at all interested in Dan Reed. I bought the 'Slam' album at the time, listened to it twice and moved on. He's an expressive, energetic performer with lots of frontman moves and a fun sense of humour. It's just a shame his music leaves me cold. Lots of people enjoyed his hour-long set.

GUN is my favourite band and their debut 'Taking on the World' is a special album for me. The guitar riffs, the song lyrics and the driving drum beats are all ingrained in my heart so whenever I see them live it's like I'm in my twenties again. Only tonight, I'm a bit sore and weary and am happy to lean on a pillar rather than bounce about in the crowd. Being ever so tetchy, I get irritated by the punter beside me whenever he bumps into me. I resist shoving him back because he's with four blokes and they are all taller and wider than me. I've got nowhere to go, though, because of the pillar. Eventually, he moves away to get more beer and my tension eases. 

GUN deliver the goods again. It's a great concert.

Afterwards, the final good thing about standing near the bar was in getting to use the fire escape for a quick exit. From the band taking their final bow to me getting home was less than thirty minutes. And I didn't get a parking ticket. A good night.

Setlist
Coming Home
Better Days
The Feeling Within
She Knows
Something to Believe In
Can't Get Any Lower
Word Up! (Cameo cover)
Taking on the World
I Will Be Waiting
Don't Say It's Over
Favourite Pleasures
Money (Everybody Loves Her)
Inside Out
Encore:
Shame on You
(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!) (Beastie Boys cover)

They might have also played Steal your Fire in the encore or I might have dreamt it.

Goodbye Mr Mackenzie, Good Deeds and Dirty Rags 30th Celebration, Barrowlands, Glasgow. Fri 20th December 2019

The first of two consecutive nights for me at the Barrowlands, Scotland's best music venue: a sold-out gig of reformed 90's band Goodbye Mr Mackenzie.

Getting parked easily, close to the venue, I sit in my car then wait till showtime to head down to catch the support act, Seil Lien. There's not much of a queue but while I wait, a youth from the bar next door leaves the group of fellow smokers to enquire who was playing. Another gig-goer tells him 'Goodbye Mr Mackenzie' and the youth asks her to repeat the name. She does so and he still draws a blank. 'You're too young, sonny' she says, as he heads back to his mates none the wiser. 

The metal detectors are flashing as fast as Christmas lights and everyone is getting patted down, searched thoroughly for sharp objects. When asked if I am carrying any, I resist saying "Just my wit" and I head upstairs. After a quick visit to the gents (which retains an endearing charm, walled on three sides by one urinal trough), I find the dancefloor mostly devoid of punters and get to select where I want to stand for the gig, just off centre, slightly forward of the middle. 

At 8 pm, Seil Lien comes on and after one song, I'm wishing for a skip track button. Her voice is okay but her songs are doing nothing for me. She finishes with a cover of 'I'm in Love with a German Film Star' by the Passions and makes it sound even more mournful than the original. I'm glad it's her last.

Just before the Mackenzies take the stage at 9 pm, the tall punters appear from the fringes and my carefully chosen short-person-in-front-of-me position now has one in front of her. There are others around me so I'm boxed in. I hope when the band appears they all move forward. 

Big John, the band's original guitarist, using crutches because of his MS, is helped on stage first and gives a defiant salute with them before settling onto his support stool. The rest of the band come on and open with 'Open Your Arms", which one lanky fellow beside me takes as an instruction for the rest of the gig. He's drunk and is enjoying the gig on a whole different level to me, exhibiting his passion with great flourishes. I fear for my spectacles and have to raise my arm often in protection. (Make up your own personal insult towards him here.)

It spoilt an otherwise okay gig. Siel Lien may have stepped into Shirley Mason's shoes but she hasn't filled them. The lighting show seemed improvised with an excessive love of strobe lighting and the sound mix was muddy, with the band sometimes gesturing for their instrument to be louder. Martin's vocals weren't strong but his performance was still mesmerising. He's a great frontman. Obviously, I still love the songs and am glad I went but it wasn't special. 

Setlist

Open Your Arms

Wake It Up

His Master's Voice

Goodwill City

Candlestick Park

Dust

You Generous Thing

Good Deeds Are Like Dirty Rags

Normal Boy

Green Turn Red

Here Comes Deacon Brodie

Face to Face

Goodbye Mr Mackenzie

The Rattler

Encore:

The Way I Walk (Jack Scott cover) (Big John on lead vocals)

Blacker Than Black

Now We Are Married   

   

Jim Jefferies, 'The Night Talker' tour, SSE Hydro, Glasgow. Thursday, 12th December, 2019

For this tour, Jim booked big venues; unfortunately, his star doesn't shine quite as brightly over here as it does in the States so he didn't sell out, filling around 4,500 of the 8000 tickets available. This meant the upper level of the Hydro was curtained off and the atmosphere was a little flat.

He brought two support acts with him this time: an Aussie, whose name I can't remember, and Forrest Shaw, the American comedian, that Jim brought with him last time when he played the Armadillo. Both supports had good material, appropriate for Jim fans, but neither won over the space. As warmups, they achieved lukewarm at best.

Jim was funny but I felt he was going through the motions tonight, actual bowel motions in one story. He looked tired, heavy and regularly sucked on his vape, like it would give him the kick to continue. The routines felt like routines, rather than spontaneous tales. You have to admire his craft, though, when apparent tangents dovetail back into the main story to great comic effect.

He still has the club chops to destroy hecklers, putting one man who shouted 'Scot-Land' in his place with a detailed and lengthy explanation about why that phrase will haunt him for the rest of his life. 

The show unfortunately finished with a story that he told last time about his brother threatening to piss on the carpet if Jim didn't get him a coke. Having heard it before, it left me feeling slightly cheated.

In summary: not his best tour but still funny.

Admiral Fallow, St Luke's, Glasgow. Thursday, 5th December. 2019

There's always less energy in the room when a band plays new songs that have yet to be released. Admiral Fallow unveiled a number of new tunes last night but that was okay because the whole point of the gig was to raise enough money to record their new album. 

Support came in the form of Angie McMahon, an Aussie singer/songwriter who sings moderately sad songs (her description) while strumming an electric acoustic guitar. She has a quirky personality, appears a little shy but has a lovely, self-deprecating sense of humour and a sweet smile. Her speaking voice is like honey whereas her singing voice is deep and throaty, reminiscent of Chrissie Hynde and Florence Welch (of 'And The Machine'). Her songs were okay but didn't really warm up the crowd.

Prior to their performance, Admiral Fallow appeared on stage to tune their own equipment. It was that kind of gig. They hadn't toured in three years and admitted to being a bit rusty, especially showcasing new material. That didn't stop it being a fun gig. Louis Abbot is a great singer with a distinctive voice and the band are all accomplished musicians, changing instruments as the song required. I'm not sure if the new stuff is as good as the old ones but that could be down to unfamiliarity. 

    

I made the mistake of standing too close to the front. It became quite crowded and there wasn't a lot of wiggle room to get a better view when the tall people pushed their way forward. My photos weren't great partly because of my proximity to the stage and because of the smoke/lighting combination being used (either that of my new phone camera sucks).

One amusing highlight came at the start of the encore. As the band gathered to sing 'Four Bulbs', only accompanied by Louis on instrumental guitar, the music from the next door bar bled through loudly. They got on with it anyway and it was still a moving version.  

Overall, I'm glad I went. Gigs after work can sometimes be a drag but Admiral Fallow were good. I'm looking forward to their new album whenever it is ready.

     

Setlist

Sleepwalking

Electric Eyes

Subbuteo

Paper Trench

3 Weeks

Happened in The Fall

The Possibility

Tree Bursts

Dead Against Smoking

Squealing Pigs

Guest Of The Government

The Grand National, 1993

Evangeline

Salt

Tuesday Grey

Encore:

Four Bulbs

Old Balloons