My relationship with Fish goes all the way back to his time in Marillion. The Script for a Jester's Tear album was my go-to whenever I needed to wallow in misery as a teenager. When he split and went solo, I went with him. His first gig at the Barrowland supporting Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors was special to me. He opened the show in the middle of the crowd, standing on a low stool right behind me. I didn't know this at first, too busy scanning the stage to see where he was. Then I got the tap from one of my mates to look behind, and the big fella was right there. Such a great gig. After that, I slowly drifted away from his work, bailing after Suits not returning until 13th Star.
It was only when he started streaming his Fish on Fridays that I tuned back in again properly. Now that I was paying for a music streaming service, it was easy to keep up to date with his new material (I still bought the CDs/Blu-rays but never played them).
I'd caught Fish live a couple of times recently and been disappointed. By the time he arrived in Glasgow, his voice was always wrecked from the rest of the tour. The show production felt like it was put together on a shoestring of compromises. When he announced that Glasgow would be his last ever show, I hesitated about going. Then, I decided I owed it to myself and to Fish to be there to provide the sendoff he deserved.
Fish being Fish, so canny with cash, he elected on this farewell tour to sell his merch at local hostelries to reduce the money he'd lose from the venue commission. This attracted lots of fans into Glasgow early. As such, when I arrived half an hour before the doors opened, the queue was horrendous, already running almost a whole block along the road. Compounded by the fact that there was an O2 priority queue too, I gave up on the idea of getting a good view inside.
Luckily, though, the space behind the accessibility seats was empty when I got in so I ended up with an excellent view. I figured I would be able to shoot some great videos for my YouTube channel. Then I saw this message:
So, I didn't record any of it, well except for this wee bit.
The stalls became rammed as more fans arrived inside. This might be how it always is for a sell-out. I'm usually further forward. Looking across, I imagined playing Whack-A-Mole with all the tall people's heads, thumping them back down to a flat level. I pitied the fools stuck behind those giants. I noticed tensions rising as people pushed through the crowd, stopping directly in front of others.
There was a slight problem in the accessibility area because two guys, one obviously disabled, were sitting on seats they hadn't reserved and got told to move. Fortunately, the couple beside them, sitting in front of me, didn't need both seats, so they offered the guy with the walking stick their spare. It turned out no one claimed the empty seats anyway, so the tall chap who'd given up his seat and received flack for being so tall, and having the audacity to keep his bunnet on, got to sit after all. They were a nice couple from Worcestershire.
While Fish was on stage, some members of the crowd angrily expressed their unhappiness with the people chatting at the back. No fights broke out, though. A few people fainted—or at least I hope they fainted, given they needed medical attention. The person behind me kept nudging my back, not out of ill feeling but simply because space was so tight.
The show itself was better than I anticipated. Fish's voice was in good shape (he was on the water), and he was supported by an excellent backing singer. He still used a prompt for the lyrics, but you can understand why given his lengthy, poetic but wordy songs. This time, at least, he used a monitor rather than sheets of paper in a folder so it appeared he was singing to us, not a music stand. The crowd atmosphere was amazing. People had travelled from all over the world to be there. Between encores, unprompted, they continued to sing the chorus from the previous song until Fish returned.
If I had any complaints, it would be about the song choices. Fish made it clear that this was his party, and he'd sing what he wanted, not what we wanted. And he did. I understood his reasoning. He's proud of certain lesser known songs and wanted to dust them off one last time. But really that's not what the crowd wanted. We expected the classics for a good old singalong. In the end, it felt like the gig was part one of a two-part finale and all the best bits were kept for part two. We still got a great finale with Market Square Heroes and The Company. He played right up to the curfew at 11 pm (from an 8.20 pm start).
You could say the night mirrored my relationship with Fish. I loved the early stuff, but the middle section was mostly unknown to me. The gig ended strong, though—a fitting goodbye. Cheers to Derek William Dick as he's shortly about to be known as again. Enjoy your pension.
Setlist
Intro -The Thieving Magpie (La Gazza Ladra) (Gioachino Rossini song)Vigil
Pipeline
Weltschmerz
Shadowplay
Family Business
Goldfish & Clowns
The High Wood, I: High Wood
The High Wood, II: Crucifix Corner
The High Wood, III: The Gathering
The High Wood, IV: Thistle Alley
The High Wood, V: The Leaving
Slàinte Mhath (Marillion song)
Waverley Steps (End of the Line)
Raw Meat
Encore:
Fugazi (Marillion song)
Encore 2:
Lucky
Market Square Heroes (Marillion song)
The Company
Outro song played from tape (Kenneth Macleod song) (The Road To The Isles)
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| image from FB - I wasn't that lucky. |
Ticket Price
Face Value £45.
1 x General Admission £52.22
(Booking fee £7.22 includes Restoration Levy of £1.60 charged by the venue)
Transaction Fee £1.50
Total £53.72 From Aloud.com
