The Vintage Explosion, RockNRollas, Paisley. Friday 24th February, 2023

Late last year, an unknown band called The Vintage Explosion went viral following Rod Stewart's praise for their performance of Sam Cooke's classic, A Change is Gonna Come. I bought into the hype and snapped up two tickets to their show at our local venue, RockNRolla's. Like most of the tour, it quickly sold out.

When I listened to their album, my feelings were a bit mixed. Some tracks, such as the above number and Mess Around, were fantastic while others were not my cup of tea. But you can't have everything (where would you put it?). 

The buzz on the night was palpable. The mostly older audience, though some were young and others were my age (one, in particular, I noted in tight leather trousers: Faye?), was up for a dance and a sing. We managed to snag a spot close to the stage, knowing the view deteriorates sharply the further back you are. 

Of course, some short-arsed drunk, with his coat wrapped around his arm and a can of lager in his hand, had to stand behind me and proceed to bump me constantly with his ill-balanced dancing. Realising he was irritating me, he grabbed my arm to apologise and forgot to let go, losing his train of thought. I made clear his actions were not welcome but that only stopped the knocks briefly. Fortunately, his pals recognised my mood when I stopped moving to the music and stood very still, taking long deep breaths, my chest swelling, shoulders rising. They hunkered him away to a safer location out of my way and I returned to enjoying the music. 

Bizarrely, I also witnessed a middle-aged bloke trying to put his moves on the blonde girl beside me, putting his arm around her waist as she danced, chatting something in her ear that immediately had her reach out to her boyfriend who was standing next to her. She slipped out of the creep's clutches and visibly shuddered in a way that was definitely not a dance move. The man slipped away again into the crowd.

The band were a delight. I could imagine them appearing in black and white on an early sixties Ed Sullivan show, dressed in their tuxedos, white shirts and black bowties, wowing the audience both in the theatre and at home. The music was a mixed bag of old-time classics, which everyone seemed to enjoy, the place warming up a sweat with all the dancing.

I couldn't help but imagine the double bass player appearing as a butler on Downtown Abbey, sneering at a piece of dirty cutlery that someone would get the sack for, if not flogged. Then the music would grab him and he'd transform into a string-plucking beast, rocking out like the devil had grabbed his soul.

I also couldn't help but think the lead singer looked a bit like the presenter and DJ Bryan Burnett. 

Twins?

This was the best show I'd experienced at RockNRolla's, though I was a little too close to take many good photos or any good videos. Maybe next time, I'll try to get a seat in the balcony.

Ticket Price £22 (no additional fees)

Setlist

Black Star Riders, 10th Anniversary Tour 2023. SWG3 Galvanizers, Glasgow. Thursday 23rd February, 2023

Two things persuaded me to get a ticket for this show: the band's new album, Wrong Side of Paradise, which includes their cover of The Osmonds' classic Crazy Horses, and I was able to pick up a resell ticket for less than face value (I do like a bargain!). The fact that there were two support acts of interest and some of my friends were going was an added bonus.

I first saw them play at the Barrowlands (as Thin Lizzy) and then again at the O2 ABC (RIP). Tonight's show at the 1250 capacity SWG3 Galvanizers was not sold out. They've been going ten years with some success but have yet to quite make that leap into the big league. 

The same could be said for the two support acts, who on the right stage, in the right size of venue, could easily headline a show of their own. 

Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons were formed by the ex-Motorhead guitarist. Their lead singer reminds me of the bastard son of Canadian comic Craig Campbell and comedy superstar (in his dreams) Nick Helm, with his rock moves and gravelly voice.  

Joel Peters

Craig Campbell

Nick Helm

 

I liked this band. They play mostly their own stuff with a bit of Motorhead, finishing, of course, with Ace of Spades. The competition sing-a-long was a bit retro but fun.  

Phil Campbell

Michael Monroe, the former singer with Hanoi Rocks, is in his sixties but still rocks out like he's living in the 1980s. He twirls the mike stand, flourishes his fan, waves his scarf and struts all over the stage, climbing onto (and occasionally falling off) the riser because that's the glam thing to do. His party trick involves doing the splits, which is quite a feat at his age. He's said to have inspired the likes of Mötley Crüe and Guns N Roses and I can see why. Unfortunately, his career and talents never reached those lofty heights. His biggest hit with Hanoi Rocks was a cover of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song, Up Around the Bend. Tonight, I reckoned he looked like the Bastard son of David Lee Roth and Lily Savage. He had a bit of a nightmare performance what with the falling, his microphone cutting out and some of the PA going down but he kept smiling because that's showbiz. He also seemed a bit twitchy and all over the place, unable to settle because of his need to perform.100% for effort but a bit less for enjoyment, the band were good value as a support act.    

Michael Monroe (2023)

Lily Savage

David Lee Roth (1980s/90s?)

  
Black Star Riders have Ricky Warwick's stamp all over them. He's very much at the centre of the band and his muscular performance drives the show. The crowd absolutely love him. 

He says his heart belongs to Belfast but his soul belongs to Glasgow and I believe him. 

My favourite tracks from the night were both covers: Crazy Horses, originally by The Osmonds, and Don't Believe a Word, originally by Thin Lizzy. I didn't like the performance of Jailbreak, which they trampled all over with a heavy sound. 

Scott Gorham, guitarist with Thin Lizzy, joined them on stage for most of the show. He's an elder statesman of Rock and could be the Bastard younger brother of Joe Biden, choosing music over politics and having a great time in the process. 

During the show, both Phil Campbell and Michael Monroe joined the band on stage for different numbers, the latter, unfortunately, encountering microphone mishaps again when his was faulty. He wasn't amused. 

Overall, it wasn't a bad night for under thirty quid. Here's to ten more years.

Ticket price: £29.20 inc fees.

Setlist

Pay Dirt

Another State of Grace

Better Than Saturday Night

When the Night Comes In

Riding Out the Storm

Wrong Side of Paradise

Crazy Horses (The Osmonds cover)

All Hell Breaks Loose

Bloodshot

Soldierstown

Don't Believe a Word (with Phil Campbell) (Thin Lizzy cover)

Blindsided

The Killer Instinct

Before the War

Testify or Say Goodbye

Tonight the Moonlight Let Me Down (with Michael Monroe)

Kingdom of the Lost

Bound for Glory

Jailbreak (Thin Lizzy cover)

Finest Hour

Phil Campbell and his Bastard Sons

Michael Monroe

Boo hoo, my microphone's faulty

Ricky Warwick

Top fan, Ally McCoist 

Those Damn Crows, February 2023 Tour. The Garage, Glasgow. Tuesday 21st February, 2023

Sometimes a song on the radio sticks in your head so much, you feel compelled to learn more about the band, seeking out their back catalogue and searching the tour listings to see if they're coming to town. Such a song was "Man on Fire", a catchy head nodder that received heavy airplay on Planet Rock Radio. Having listened to and liked their other work, it was a no-brainer to go with the lads to this gig. Better still, it was on a Tuesday, my regular day off from work, so no problems getting there on time.

But we were meeting in the pub and some were running late so we didn't arrive at the venue till after seven (doors open at 6.30pm). The place was rammed. I've never seen The Garage so full so early. Valhalla Awaits were mid-set and it looked like we were going to struggle to find a spot except at the back. What I didn't know was we had booked a booth. With six of us crammed in, my nutsack came in for a bit of a crush, legs pressed together, and I knew this position would be untenable for the duration of the gig. Fortunately, Alan and Bob wanted to stand so the increased space became bearable.

Sitting properly on the seat, the view was poor. I could barely see the second support act, which I wasn't overly bothered about. The music didn't move me. They played their set. That's about all I can say about them.

I was here for Those Damn Crows. They did not disappoint. Choosing to perch against the wall on the top of the backs of the seats, my view was much improved except for the pipe on the underside of the balcony which restricted it marginally, becoming an issue only when the lead singer or bassist stood on the platform at the nearside of the stage.

The sound was good, the music had depth and the lead singer enjoyed himself immensely, teasing us that we couldn't be better than Swansea (the band are Welsh, as in fact were all the bands tonight). He even climbed onto the balcony to lead the singalong, returning to the stage through the crowd.

This was their first UK headline tour and I think they played safe picking the 700 capacity Garage. I don't know if they could have filled the Barrowland but that is a gig I want to see.  Maybe there the other guitarist would have had more stage to play with instead of being stuck in the corner.

I predict great things from this band. They will fill arenas one day.

Setlist

Fill The Void

Wake Up

Sick of Me

Kingdom of Dust

Sin on Skin

Blink of an Eye

Who Did It?

Send the Reaper

Rock N Roll Ain't Dead

Go Get It

Takedown

Man On Fire

Waiting For Me

Encore:

This Time I'm Ready

Play Video

See You Again

Ticket Price: £18 plus fees.  

The timings slipped slightly on the night

James & The Cold Gun

Sara Pascoe, "Success Story". The Pavilion, Glasgow. Friday 3rd February, 2023

No support act for Sara tonight. It was a proper stand-up tour show with two halves and an interval (so The Pavilion could sell us ice cream, sweets and alcohol). 

From the publicity leaflet: "Sara decided she wanted to be famous when she was 14 years old. since then, she had auditioned for Barrymore, scared Pete Burns and ruined Hugh Grant's birthday - but look at her now... (please look, she needs you to look. And clap. And laugh. And then clap again)."

This covered the first half. Some of this material I'd heard her perform previously, on chat shows and the like. The familiarity didn't make it less funny.

In the second half, she discussed her path to pregnancy, her lactating boobs ("maybe they'll attract more men to my show") and her feelings towards her son, Siegfried Sassoon (not his real name - that's Theodor) and her dog, Mouse, which confused the pest control person she'd called in when she had a rodent problem.

I do like Sara. She doesn't do big gags but instead races along, almost getting breathless at the speed she talks, casually throwing out funny line after funny line, often as the butt of her own jokes. She presents as warm and authentic and says what she believes. She puts a lot of craft into her routines while making them feel effortless. 

One thing that appeared strange was seeing so many spaces in the audience. We had tickets in the front-row Circle and there were four empty seats beside me (I've ceased taking it personally) with more gaps elsewhere. Did people forget about the show? Were they ill? Or were the tickets purchased by touts who couldn't resell them? I'll never know. Or need to know. 

What I do know is tonight was a success... a success story! 

(Ticket price: £15 plus fees)

An actual paper ticket!!

Danny Bhoy, Work in Progress, The Stand, Glasgow. Wednesday 1st February, 2023

Oh Bhoy, what a brilliant comedian this man is. Even for a work-in-progress show, this was superb. Yes, the flow was occasionally a little stilted between routines but he'd taken two years off because of the pandemic so that was to be expected. He's still polishing his set. The quality of the jokes is exquisite (a work of art in one case) and his performance adds so much to the comedy (acting out a conversation between a penguin and a giraffe or queuing at a Spanish supermarket, for example). He possesses such great stage charisma, it's hard not to instantly warm to him.  

A lovely touch about tonight's show was he was donating the ticket money to a Glasgow food bank. A punter at the front gave him a giant Toblerone but I think she intended it for him rather than as a donation. He joked about it being racist as she'd given him the white one, not the brown one.

If you get the chance to catch him live, do not hesitate. You will not be disappointed. 

Ticket price: £12 plus booking fee.