Holy Moly and the Crackers, Audio, Glasgow. Sat 9th October, 2021

My third gig post-lockdown and this was the one where I feared most that I'd catch Covid: small, steamy venue; no pre-checks required; no testing at the door; hardly anyone wearing masks inside; no social distancing; lots of alcohol being consumed and plenty of loud conversations between people determined to be heard over the music. Akin to playing Russian roulette with a couple of empty chambers already clicked.

I'm still glad I went.

The first support act, Rob Heron, appeared dressed like a French man (his words) and played a set of old-time music. He carried an air of Lonnie Donegan via Miles Jupp. His personality won over most pockets of the audience. Not sure if he managed to double his sales though, with a night target of two LPs.

Rob Heron

The second support act was True Strays, a rock-blues combo, inhabiting the spirit of truckstop America's Deep South. Imagine Seasick Steve as a duo. I wasn't enamoured by their weak cover of ZZ Top's Gimme All Your Lovin' but their original material went down well. Technical sound gremlins hampered their show with the mics often not working. It turned out the venue's sound engineer had called in sick with Covid and they'd had to bring in a last-minute replacement and he was having a nightmare keeping everything wired up. At one point the two guys played acapella at the front of the stage to let the engineer fix things and from then on it went fine, apart from the occasional issue with the sound levels. 

True Strays

The headliners, Holy Moly and the Crackers are (to quote their website) "innovative and fiery folk-rockers, who put on a raucous and feel-good party, where everyone is invited". This was evident by the wide range of their audience: from students to pensioners, working-class to moneyed-class. I stumbled across the band during lockdown thanks to an Amazon Music "You Might Like" suggestion. Their combination of catchy tunes and eastern European rhythms was beguiling so I took a punt on seeing them live. They did not disappoint.

Beforehand, I was not aware Ruth Patterson, their frontwoman, was disabled. She was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlon Syndrome at 21 and performs from a seat in the centre of the stage. She normally gets around in a wheelchair but this wasn't an option with Audio's small stage so Conrad Bird, the band's other frontman, carried her on piggyback-style. Seeing the frontwoman lowered to a seat this way unsettled me as I didn't know what was wrong with her. Perform sitting down, thrusting out her arms and dancing with her upper body, she quickly dissolved any awkwardness proving her disability didn't detract from her and our enjoyment. She had a great time singing, playing the fiddle and whipping up the crowd. 

So too did Conrad with his earthy vocals, guitar playing and trumpeting. Indeed, the band meshed as a tight unit to create their unique sound and party atmosphere. Again, there were a few minor sound gremlins but nothing serious.

I would definitely see these gypsy troubadours again, hopefully in a venue where the audience did less drinking and chatting during the show. 

No Setlist, unfortunately, though they did finish on Whiskey Aint No Good, written by Rob Heron, with him and True Strays joining them for the final song. 

My phone camera kept playing up so I have only a few pics from the show worth sharing.

  

Manic Street Preachers, "The Ultra Vivid Lament Tour", Glasgow Barrowland. Tues 5th October, 2021

On the day I received my flu shot and second Covid booster (one in each arm), I ventured out to Glasgow armed with my vaccine passport, mask and tickets for only my second gig in eighteen months (and this one was standing). Was I going to be gig fit and last the night?

Arriving after 7.30 pm (doors open 7 pm), we got straight through security with minimum fuss (a couple of questions re covid symptoms and a temperature check). We weren't even frisked. The dancehall was empty bar the hardcore at the front and a smattering of fans at the fringes. We settled on a spot in the middle rear part of the hall, further back than the disco ball,which hangs from the centre of the ceiling.

The support act was not The Ancores as advertised (not that I would have recognised them anyway) but a band from Hull called Low Hummer. The girl singer was in a bright red Cheongsam while the other singing bloke looked like a newly-qualified social studies teacher in his beige long-sleeved t-shirt, hands in his trouser pockets as he walked around the stage. 

Low Hummer

They play what I would describe as a retro, post-punk indie with a heavy drum beat and vocals that are as often spoken as sung. And I liked them (enough to do an internet search to check out who they were based on the few song titles I could make out). The keyboard player was so gorgeous I had to keep reminding myself I was old enough to be her dad and she would have an accent like comedian Lucy Beaumont. 

Elegant and cool!

I listened to their newly released debut album, "Modern Tricks For Living" on Amazon Music afterwards and was surprised by how 80's synth-heavy it was. This aspect wasn't apparent on the night.

The Manics opened with Motorcycle Emptiness and the Glasgow crowd came alive, taking over the vocals for the chorus. James Dean Bradfield commented afterwards in his inimitable Wesh accent, "Well, you turned up, didn't you!" Over the course of one hundred minutes, they performed a variety of old and new songs. One nice touch was when they played a few bars of Into the Valley by The Skids before going into a cover of GnR's Sweet Child O Mine. They've been varying the intro across the tour so the Scottish flavour was apt for the Glasgow show. 

The crowd was packed, with latecomers pushing their way towards the middle. Somehow I always manage to end up in a section of the crowd that forms a corridor to the bar with traffic moving in both directions. Two assholes clutching pints decided to stop right in front of me. To add insult to injury, the bald one turned around, saw my annoyance and had the balls to say "Look mate, we're not pushing in. We've been standing here all night. We just both went for a pint," then turned around again and chuckled to his mate. Believing that to be a lie, my impotent rage went into overdrive. I began to imagine drawing a garrotte from my belt and slicing his neck till the blood poured down his shirt like a waterfall. Whenever he sucked on his vape, I wanted to shove his head forward so hard he smashed his teeth against it and choked on it as it got wedged down his throat. His bearded pal deserved to get his pint sprinkled with powdered dog training treats but my supply had been emptied prior to departure in case the staff thought I was carrying Scooby snacks. Obviously, this was all in my head and I did nothing but fume and clap uncomfortably loudly close to the bald guy's head at the end of each song. 

The Manics gave a great performance and the audience loved them, As did I. My only minor gripe was with the lighting which was regularly blinding and a bit unimaginative. I suspect it was designed for a venue with a higher ceiling. But that's rock n roll for you.

I kept my mask on for the entire show (I was very much in the minority there) but still managed to sing along despite my tickly upper lip. The next morning, I was rewarded with a croaky, deep voice, which attests it was a great night out.     

Setlist

Motorcycle Emptiness

Orwellian

Your Love Alone Is Not Enough

The Secret He Had Missed

You Stole the Sun From My Heart

Little Baby Nothing

Still Snowing in Sapporo

Everything Must Go

Complicated Illusions

International Blue

If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next

From Despair to Where (Acoustic)

Into the Valley (The Skids - Intro only)

Sweet Child o' Mine (Guns N’ Roses cover)

Tsunami

Afterending

Slash 'n' Burn

Spectators of Suicide

Ocean Spray

You Love Us

A Design for Life

Addendum: Having looked through my photos of the night, I have subsequently discovered those two chaps were indeed in front of me on the other side of the traffic corridor. 

Addendum two: in today's PDE there is a report that a student has been convicted of assault to severe injury for shoving a man in a takeaway. The student was verbally provoked by the aggressive drunk but still got fined £625 because there was no excuse for his behaviour. 

A timely reminder of the consequences of violence. It's never worth it.