Edinburgh Fringe: Trip One - Melanie Bracewell, Jin Hao Li & Elf Lyons. Monday 5th August, 2024

Our first trip to this year's Edinburgh Fringe was nearly derailed by industrial action. Our train would have brought us back to Glasgow, but because of the revised timetable, we would have missed the last one back to Johnstone. So, plan B involved a drive to the Ingleston Park and Ride and then taking the tram into the city. This was the cheapest option (other than risking a parking ticket). 

As we left Paisley, the weather was wet and drizzly, and it only got wetter. The sat nav took us to Silverburn to join the M74 and then bypassed the M8, continuing on until we reached the M73, only later joining the M8. By then, the surface water was horrendous, and every flare of brake lights in front of me triggered a pedal slam from me, too, because I couldn't see what lay beyond. Eventually, the rain thinned, and the clouds lightened, so by the time we reached the Park and Ride, it was dry. And warm. Seriously warm. I had three layers on, two of which were unnecessary. We bought the tram tickets at the machine (the kiosk closed at 3.30pm, though the assistant was still sitting there scrolling on her phone). 

The tram trip was way more relaxing than the drive. However, travelling on a 'train on the road' did feel a bit weird, passing shops and pedestrians instead of railway embarkments and the backs of buildings. We got off at St Andrew's Square and made our way to the Pleasance, the venue for all of today's shows.

Apart from the unexpected heat, the first thing that struck me was the number of names on the show listing boards that I'd never heard of. I used to think I was quite comedy-savvy, but I had no clue who most of these people were. It also felt quieter, but then I remembered it was Monday. 

The benches in the Courtyard are a good place to people-watch. We noticed Alan Davies, Nina Conti, and Chloe Petts passing by. I also noticed that the number of young women not wearing bras seems to have shot up since I was a young lad. This is a fashion statement I applaud, but I didn't know where to look. So perhaps I missed other celebrities wandering by as I distracted myself on my phone, trying to avoid a dirty look or slap (from them and my wife). 

Melanie Bracewell - Attack of the Melanie Bracewell
17.50 Baby Grand, Pleasance Courtyard 

The first show we took was at the Baby Grand. This venue is located in an alley outside the courtyard, accessed further down the road. It's essentially a very hot container box with power, seats, and lighting.  Earlier that day, I'd received an email from Fringe Customer Services warning me that the show description for Melanie Bracewell's "Attack of the Melanie Bracewell" had changed, now including 'Swearing, Adult Content and Mild Audience Participation'. 

Melanie is a story-telling comedian from New Zealand (friends with Urzilla Carlson, it turns out, as she made a couple of guest appearances on video). This show's story is about Melanie's need to recover her missing earpods, which she believes have been stolen. As you'd expect from any hour-long show, it's not a simple tale, with lots of twists and turns. The humour is likeable, with most of the craft coming from the structure rather than the wordplay. 

It was okay. A pleasant appetizer.

Ticket Price: £12 (2for1)

Jin Hao Li - Swimming in a Submarine
19.10 Below, Pleasance Courtyard.

This is Jin Hao Li's debut hour at Edinburgh. He's Chinese-born, Singapore-raised, and educated at St Andrews (or Standrews, as he called it). He first came to my attention at the BBC New Comedy Awards in 2023. I loved his softly spoken wordplay, creatively using pauses for misdirection. His surreal vision was engaging. I had high expectations for this show.   

Which, unfortunately, it didn't meet. 

It still felt like a work in progress. It was good, but some bits missed the mark. A good director could shape this into something better, as the writing is brilliant, and his audience control is fantastic. He can still save it, but for me, it didn't quite hit the top marks I was expecting.

He did make my wife jump, though, during his bit about ghosts. That was a first. I used to think she lacked an autonomic nervous system as she never falls for any jump scares in the movies, whereas I always do.

Ticket Price: £12 (2for1) 

Elf Lyons - Horses
21.20, Above, Pleasance Courtyard
2for1 £15

Elf Lyons is a performer I've wanted to see in person for a long time. I had tickets for her Raven show at the Glasgow Stand but contracted Covid and had to cancel. I had no foreknowledge about this year's show, Horses, except the title and that it was "highly regarded". 

When the time came to enter the venue, she greeted us at the theatre door. She was tall, barefoot, wearing a leotard and a colourful, diamond-shaped waistcoat. She had grease paint on her upper face and forehead and lipstick reminiscent of a mime. She looked clownish, and that was the point. She was setting a tone.

The show itself is magnificent. She told us from the off that she was going to bring a horse onto the stage, and she did - in our minds. She is a fantastic performer, using movement to build and create her imaginary worlds. She engages us with playful but safe audience interaction. The subject matter can go quite dark (I've never felt an audience feel so nervous about an imaginary old horse facing an imaginary farmer's imaginary gun). She's also clever in the way she subverts the form, throwing out funnies like a muck spreader. Between scenes, she mimes the words playing on a backing track, involving conversations with her family members, which lays the foundation for the show's underlying theme. 

The whole show ties up beautifully at the end, and the message (SPOILER!): it's okay to play, even if we forgot how to when we grew up. We can all still be horses, just like some of the bolder audience members at the end—beautiful, pert young colts and fillies who gently cantered about the stage unbridled. (Yeah, sorry, I should have looked away). 

 

The trip home was horrendous, with multiple M8 closures at locations I'd never driven through before. Having to get the tram back to the car didn't help either, so we didn't reach home until 12:40 a.m. It was worth it, though, just to catch 'Horses'. 

All tickets were purchased from EdFringe.com. The booking fee was capped at £5.

She looks exactly the same in person

Addendum: Elf Lyons wins two awards: The Comedians Choice Award 2024   and the ISH Edinburgh Comedy Award 2024

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)

Gold Dust Woman (Fleetwood Mac song)

Leather and Lace (with Steve Real)

Edge of Seventeen

Encore:

Rhiannon (Fleetwood Mac song)

Landslide (Fleetwood Mac song)

Outro music

(Song played from tape) Got a Hold on Me (Christine McVie song)

Ticket Price: Full Price Ticket 

Face Value £185.00 

Service Charge £25

Facility Charge £1.70 

Handling Fee £2.00 

Total £213.70 

 

Gypsy

FreeFallin

Edge of Seventeen

Clean up team to row C please

Duetting with her vocal coach, Steve Real

Made of Stone Festival 2024 (Day Three) Mote Park, Maidstone, Kent. Sun 21st July, 2024.

We headed for breakfast a little later than previously, as my compatriots requested more time to recover from Saturday's session. My skin was sensitive around the neckline of my T-shirt. My eight-hour Soltan had obviously knocked off early due to overwork.

The sky was overcast, but rain was unlikely, so I left my poncho at the hotel. We decided against an early trip into town and went straight from the town car park to the event. The queues to get in were minimal. 

The Sons of Liberty VIP set was first on today's list, so we sat at the table at the front nearest the drumkit. I didn't account for someone pitching up their camp chair in front of me. Still, at least he was sitting down. 

There was one major problem, though. The band and equipment were there, but no sound guy to hook everything up. SoL had to fill while we waited. They chatted with the audience, made jokes about the situation, and generally kept the tone fun. They mentioned being disappointed that When Rivers Meet had gone home due to a family emergency. That disappointed me, too, as they were also on my list. 

Eventually, the sound guy appeared with microphones and cables, but it still took another twenty minutes to set up the gear. Given the delay, SoL asked if we wanted to hear their full set or just a shorter one. The audience unanimously cheered for the former.

They were fantastic! There was a real party atmosphere. Two blokes in the audience even bought them rounds during the set. I recorded the first song and then kept going. I hadn't intended to record the whole thing, but I'm glad I did. Let's hope they tour soon.  

We next went to see Black Roze on the Firestarter stage. Her voice was kooky, but the music didn't grab me. I bailed when the singer took out her whip.  

A late lunch of a pulled pork burger confused me as there was no burger, just pulled pork in a bun. Generally, the food was expensive but of a high standard. There was plenty of choice, though some vendors took longer than others to prepare the food. The shops at the entrance held little interest to me. I didn't partake in the axe-throwing, either.

We returned to the Firestarter stage to catch Twister. They write catchy tunes, but today, the singer's voice decided to go on holiday (his line). He apologised, struggling to hit the required range, but gave it his best. We watched the whole set. They're worth catching again.

Next, we headed over to the VIP area to catch Chantel Mcgregor. Standing at the back of the crowd, just under the awning, I could barely see her. When she started playing some fancy twiddly bits on her guitar, I left to watch the band on the Phoenix stage. I'm told she improved.

As December Falls are a passionate rock band, full of power and energy. Their lead singer, Bethany, reminds me of Avril Lavigne, only younger. They wowed the crowd with their rocking numbers. 

I made my way to the barrier at the end of their set, as next up was Massive Wagons. The space at the front filled quickly despite other bands playing elsewhere. I think everyone knew their set was going to be special. The security team stretched a roll of black tape across the grass in front of the stage, creating a line that should not be crossed by the photographers. The security girl explained to my neighbours at the barrier that this was due to the use of pyros on stage.

I watched the road crew set up. Baz came out and checked where everything was. A guitarist I didn't recognise did his sound check. In his plain white T-shirt, I thought he was a roadie. but it turned out he was Adam Thistlewaite, one of the band's guitarists. I should probably have thought of something to say when he said hi. 

The background music playing while this was all going on was Disney classics reimagined as rock tunes. I chatted to the mother beside me while we waited, commenting on how busy it was getting already. She was from Northern Ireland, though she lived locally. Her two kids were with her, including her six-year-old boy. He could barely see over the barrier. I told her the story of our accommodation mishap, letting slip an F word, and hastily apologised for my use of the Glaswegian. The mother then pointed out that Massive Wagons would be playing a song called "Fuck the Haters", so I needn't worry. The child had heard it all before.

A short girl stood behind me. By now, the place was hoaching. She tapped me on the back and requested that I don't fall on her, showing me her walking stick. It was an obvious attempt to pull my heartstrings, and obviously, I resisted. I had stood for nearly an hour. I did promise her, given I'd forgotten to take my medication that morning, that if I had a heart attack, I'd fall on the gentlemen instead.

Massive Wagons were immense. Baz's voice has such power. He is a deranged performer but still professional. He knows how to deliver a performance. The band was loud, even with my earplugs in. I videoed a couple of songs, then decided I was missing out and put the phone away. Generation Prime was my fave on the day. 

I hung around to see if I could get a drumstick or plectrum or one of the setlists, but it wasn't to be. One of the ladies who was more fortunate than me allowed me to take a picture, though.

Note the use of marker pen to indicate when the front pyros would be used. There had been much chatter about the original printing not containing this info. 

Missing on TV and Skateboard

Please Stay Calm

Next up on the Firestarter stage was The Karma Effect. I hadn't seen them before (but I do have a ticket to see them later in the year). Today, I felt the lead singer struggled with his voice. He pulled away from hitting the big notes as if he had laryngitis or had inhaled too much of the smoke machine vapour. The band sounded good, though, and he can play a mean guitar.  

Testify 

Next, I hopped (not literally) a short distance to see Larkin Poe. The sisters drew a big crowd, and my view was partially blocked by all the heads and baseball caps. I enjoyed their set for a while, but then I felt the lure of a chair pulling me back to the VIP section. There's only so much slide guitar I can take. I'm glad I got to see them, if only to know I didn't need to see them again. Not my thing.

Mr Big didn't appeal to me much either, so we listened to them from the VIP section. I knew some of their songs, but I mainly felt a big 'So what?' about them. We left early during their Cat Steven's cover of "Wild World". Scott even told us his Mr Big one-liner: "What size are Mr Big's T-shirts?"

The festival was a great experience. Everyone (almost) was friendly. There was no fighting or overly drunk individuals. There were no midges. There was great weather. My credit card took a battering, but it was worth it. I was exposed to a wide range of rock music. I didn't get to see everything, but that was okay because I'd chosen to invest my time in the bands I needed to see. Maybe next time, I'll get better at the social side of things. A lot of people bond at the festival and form friendships. I'm so grateful to Bob and Scott for letting me tag along.

I'll go again (but I reserve the right to see the line-up first).