Gut Reactions (post-gig memories and other trips): Stevie Nicks, "Live in Concert", OVO Hydro, Glasgow. Wednesday 23rd July, 2024.

I was in two minds about buying a ticket to this concert. They were so expensive, and I was only partly familiar with Stevie's back catalogue. Then Nina Nesbitt, an artist I adore, announced she would be the support act. I noticed a ticket for a seat near the front of Section 005 (front/middle) that was a standard (not Platinum) price. Still, I debated whether to go. I'd been off work with Covid. Would I be fit by the weekend? Would it be appropriate to attend? I decided it wasn't worth it.

Then Stevie rescheduled.

Still, I hummed and hawed. That seat was gone, and I had no interest in paying a fortune for a seat in the Hydro gods. On the way back from Maid of Stone, I reviewed the setlist from her Manchester show and was impressed. I knew most of the songs. She was playing Fleetwood Mac numbers and covers as well as her own material. Ticketmaster also had a single seat five rows from the front...

I logged onto the website whilst travelling in the car. After nearly an hour and five timeouts later, I still didn't have it. I didn't know if my new credit card had been blocked, the internet signal was playing up or if I was mistyping some digits with my pudgy fingers. It kept saying I'd forgotten to enter something. Then I noticed the ticket numbers going back up again, so I figured there was a problem with the website. I tried the app, and this time, I was successful. I finally was in.

Anyway, that's the origin story. What about the gig?

I arrived early enough to catch Nina's set. There was little fanfare to announce her arrival on stage. The massive screen at the rear of the stage displayed the cover image of her new album, Mansions, with information about its release date (and a QR code, which I didn't try to scan). Her band consisted of two blokes who wandered on, picked up their instruments and started playing, with Nina joining them shortly afterwards. Attendees were trickling in, with lots of seats still empty, so it felt like she was performing before the gig had started.

Her voice was magical. Although this was new material, I knew it well enough to mouth the lyrics, willing the audience to join in. She played exactly the same set as the other tour shows but then announced she playing one more song because it was her home town. She closed the set with an acoustic version of Dougie MacLean's Caledonia. It was slightly disappointing that she didn't have a full band with her, so I guess I'll need to catch her on tour later in the year.

I'm Coming Home

Nina Nesbitt Setlist

Pages

big things, small town

Mansion

I'm Coming Home

Parachute

Anger

I had no preconceptions about Stevie Nicks prior to this gig. I hadn't watched any interviews or YouTube footage of recent concerts, so didn't know what to expect. I knew what she was going to play but not how it was going to sound.

I was pleasantly surprised.

Stevie Nicks comes across as that chatty gran who just happened to be a massive rockstar last century. She's got stories aplenty, and she's going to tell them to you at length, incorporating every tiny detail she can remember, whether it is necessary or not. She'll also bring out her Seventies wardrobe, spinning around in all the pretty capes that she accrued. Ordinarily, you might ask yourself, 'Do I have the patience for this?" Then she sings, and you realise this lady still has quite a set of pipes. She confesses she does her forty minutes of vocal exercises every day, and you realise she's not talking about her jaw-flapping anecdotes. Her voice may be deeper than it was, but it is strong, and it can hit all the notes. She has backing singers, but she doesn't need them to support her. She admits at her age, her mobility might be worse than it was, but she gets there. Best of all, her fiery spirit and determination are very much alive. She is going to put on a show for everyone to love, and no one will tell her otherwise.

It could have been a nostalgic car crash, relying on the goodwill of the audience, but it wasn't. It was seriously good. Her band was tight, the sound excellent, her vocals clear, and the visuals suitably appropriate (if that's an expression). Whether it was worth the hefty ticket price, I'm not sure. I'd have happily paid half what I did and been content. But when the artist has been around for over half a century and is still this talented, you can justify the expense. Who knows when or if she'll return.

I was surprised to see so many young people in the audience. Most wouldn't even have been born in Stevie's heyday. The mix between young and old was fairly even. Beside me on my left sat two ladies in their sixties (later introducing themselves as Margaret and Jean). Their whoops as Stevie arrived on stage were louder than anything I experienced at Maid Of Stone (bar Massive Waggons). Margaret liked to dance along to the music while shooting videos on her phone, with the camera light illuminating the rows in front. She left to go to the bar twice, each time returning with a tray of four alcoholic spirits. On the second return, Jean exclaimed, "You bought FOUR", as if they couldn't drink that much. Of course, they could. They enjoyed themselves immensely. Afterwards, she apologised for encroaching on my space, but I didn't mind... that much.

After the show, as the crowds navigated the big red tube that crosses over the Clydeside Expressway, the busker at the near end played Edge of Seventeen, accompanied by a chorus of females who belted out the words. That would have been a nice finale to the night had it not been topped by the busker at the other end, who was strumming the familiar F1 riff of The Chain as we exited the bridge. Corker!

A great night.

I'll share a final thought that occurred to me during the show. I'm not proud of it. Watching the big screen, I suddenly noticed that Stevie resembled a man in drag, that man being an aged Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs. Once you see it, you can't unsee it. (The clue's in her name: Stevie). It's just as well that society encourages these things nowadays (not the serial killer part).

Setlist

Intro music - Runnin' Down A Dream (Tom Petty song)

Outside the Rain

Dreams (Fleetwood Mac song)

If Anyone Falls

Stop Draggin' My Heart Around

For What It's Worth (Buffalo Springfield cover)

Gypsy (Fleetwood Mac song)

Wild Heart

Bella Donna

Stand Back

Free Fallin' (Tom Petty cover)