Gut Reactions (post-gig memories and other trips): The Hot Damn! "About Last Night" Tour, the Mash House, Edinburgh. Saturday 11th October, 2025.

I originally had a ticket for Hue and Cry at Paisley Town Hall tonight, but gave it away when the girls announced their date for Edinburgh, the only Scottish gig of this tour. As much as I love the Kane brothers, The Hot Damn! are a class above anything else live.

Doug's car was having electronics trouble, so I drove the four of us to Edinburgh. Doug acted as my personal sat-nav, directing us to a free spot of on-street parking near the Tesco Bank office. From there, we hopped onto the tram to the city centre, where Doug headed off to meet up with his son.

The rest of us made our way to The Alexander Graham Bell for some afternoon refreshments. It was jam-packed, with few tables for four, so we almost gave up on eating there. It took a while before we were able to push two tables together and dine. Much cheapness, though!

Suitably nourished, we headed over to the Old Town to find the venue. Then, having done so, and it not being open, we decided on Bannermans for our next refreshment. There, Gill and Lzi from The Hot Damn! were having a pre-show drink. They had company, so we didn't bother them.

The Mash House is situated halfway up Hastie’s Close in the Cowgate, just a few steps away from La Belle Angele, and has a live show capacity of 230. The gig was close to being sold out (Gill informed us it was the best-selling date of this tour). I'd never been in it before, but liked it. It had an intimate atmosphere with a good sound system, although they went a bit overboard with the smoke machine and lighting, as many small venues do.

The start time of tonight's show was brought forward from 7 pm to 6:30 pm to accommodate the addition of a second support act, Ayrshire's The Breathing Method. Their rhythm guitarist was on vocal duties as they'd recently parted ways with their singer. The bassist helped out on backing vocals, shouting out their heavy(ish) rock choruses. They were pretty good, though I'd like to hear how that sound changes when they get a new singer.

Kit Trigg was phenomenal. I'd not been aware of his work before, but he's a great guitarist and vocalist. He gives off a joyful vibe with his music (and happy resting face). The first track reminded me of Beck with its funky vibe and lyrics, but he then moved on to more solid rock territory.

Goin' for Glory

The Hot Damn! blew it out of the park tonight. I've seen them twice before, but tonight, the band were so tight (and not just because of the small stage). Gill's vocals were off the charts, as was her swear quotient, even with her mum in the audience. The band has great tunes and choreography, bringing a lot of fun to the show. If they're going to cover a song, they make it their own, literally. Abba's Gimme Gimme Gimme tonight contains the lyric "Gimme Gimme Gimme Hot Damn after midnight". I filmed a tiny clip of this song (see below). Filming the rest of the gig was difficult due to the bright spotlights, the smoke haze (I could hardly make out Josie on drums), and my standing position (a punter's head often blocking my view of Lzi on the right), even though I only had one person in front of me. The back of Lorna's head makes a cameo in many of my photos. Her boyfriend turned out to be a rock-adjacent legend, with his dad roadying for Uriah Heap back in the day. His first gig was when he was three months old. I won't repeat his story about what went on between Sharon Osbourne and Randy Rhodes backstage at the Apollo.

A snippet of cover Gimme, Gimme, Gimme

For all that, though, I still had a great time. The positive buzz lived on the following morning, after a great night's sleep (for a change). Who knew The Hot Damn! could cure insomnia? Not something they'd want on their posters.

Setlist:

Sorry. I never saw the setlist, and it's not updated on setlist.fm.

Ticket Price: 4 x £14 = £56, plus £5.60 Service Fees, plus, £1.65 Delivery Fee = £63.25 from TicketWeb.