Robin McAuley UK Tour 2025, Classic Grand, Glasgow. Saturday 16th August, 2025

A last-minute offer of a free ticket brought me out to this gig at the Classic Grand. As such, I was a wee bit underprepared, having only listened to a few tracks from his most recent album.

Support act, Lyin Rampant, have been around for years. Not that I've ever seen them, to my recollection. At the start of their set, the sound was awful, as if I was listening to them through a wall, with only the bass registering. It got slightly better later, but by that time, I'd already tuned out. The lead singer looked as if his mop of a perm was too heavy for his neck, singing most of the songs into the floor. I've seen a few older rock singers do this, but it's usually so they can read their lyrics from a monitor. I don't think that applied tonight.

Robin McAuley is not a name that troubled me in the past. He sang with Grand Prix and Michael Schenker, and had his own solo career, but I couldn't name a single song he sang. That didn't help tonight. The sound was much improved for his set, but still, it's difficult to sing along if you don't know the words. His music is very much generic 80s melodic rock. If this had been a festival show, I'd have wandered off to find a seat. 

On the quieter numbers, the club music blasting out in a room on a lower floor muddied the sound. I really don't like the Classic Grand as a music venue.   

Still, it was free, it finished just after 9.30, and it reminded me that not every gig can be a winner. Well worth the money I paid, if not the time.

Setlist (assuming it didn't change from the first date of the tour)

Save Yourself (McAuley–Schenker Group song)
Standing on the Edge
This Is My Heart (McAuley–Schenker Group song)
Shout (Grand Prix cover)
Keep on Believing (Grand Prix cover)
Take Me Back (McAuley–Schenker Group song)
The Best of Me
Alive
Bad Boys (McAuley–Schenker Group song)
Gimme Your Love (McAuley–Schenker Group song)
Anytime (McAuley–Schenker Group song)
Samurai (Grand Prix cover)
Love Is Not a Game (McAuley–Schenker Group song)

Ticket Price: Free (comp courtesy of Trev from Shock City Productions

Lyin Rampant

Robin McAuley

Both bands on stage for the final song

Edinburgh Fringe, Thursday 14th August 2025: Elf Lyons, Kieran Hodgson, Adam Riches and John Kearns as Ball & Boe.

These were the shows I booked as soon as the programme was launched. I'll explain why below.

Our drive to Edinburgh was slightly strained as we'd left later than I'd hoped. The sat nav had us arriving at 7pm instead of closer to 6.30, so I was fretting over finding a street parking space. My wife kept nagging me about my speed and the likelihood of getting caught by the omnipresent traffic cops. Everything went fine, despite the traffic rerouting, until the sat nav was unaware that the Cowgate was closed to traffic. Cue an unexpected 180 at the roundabout, and a near collision as my eyes studied the screen map, failing to notice until the last second that the Audi in front had stopped at the pedestrian crossing. Fortunately, the only crunch was of my brakes and tyres. 

I navigated to a street parking spot on the south side near Just the Tonic. We had plenty of time before our first show, so we had drinks in the cafe beside the Pleasance Dome, remembering to use the facilities before joining the queue. Breath!    

Elf Lyons: "Raven" (2 x £15) 20.00 at the King Dome Pleasance Dome

I originally had tickets for this show at The Stand, Glasgow, when it toured, but I caught Covid and had to ask for a refund (for Jordan Brookes, too, it turned out). Billed as a Horror show, I expected creepy clown vibes, with Elf patrolling the audience, providing jump scares and invading personal space. 

It's not that at all. It's a scream, but the kind of scream from a hysterical person who's just experienced a horrific trauma. And I don't mean seeing a ghost.  

Elf talks us through her childhood, using her ickle voice, reminding us she's nine when she thinks we're perving at her libidinous movements. She was educated at home; her mother showed her horror films; she devoured Stephen King books. When she stayed with an uncle, they always watched The Thirty-Nine Steps, until one day he put on Kevin Bacon's The Hollow Man, about a scientist who turned himself invisible, went mad, and attacked women. Then her nightmares about monsters really began.

At ten, she was sent to boarding school. During the holidays, if she wasn't going home to her parents, she'd be alone in her dorm. The lights along the long corridor to the bathroom worked on sensors, but didn't always register her presence. The long walk terrified her. Especially the night when she discovered a male stranger standing at the other end with no one around to save her.

She acts out the show in five scenes. For the final one, she lays herself bare, physically and emotionally, destroying fruit to the pounding beat of The Prodigy's Firestarter, spotlights blasting, screaming her revelation at us. The front row needs a splash guard tarpaulin as she sprays them with tomatoes, chewed banana, and smashes up a watermelon, both with a mallet and her fists. Powerful stuff.

She sings her epilogue, the words too painful to speak. Raw, emotional and brave. Whether it's theatre or comedy is irrelevant. It's art, born out of trauma, and quite an experience. Wow!  

(Star spotting one: Stuart Goldsmith, of the Comedian's Comedian podcast, was sitting in the front row of this show.)

Kieran Hodgson: Voice of America (2 x £18) 21.30 Beyond at Pleasance Courtyard

Elf's show committed a cardinal Fringe sin: it overran, so we had less than fifteen minutes, instead of thirty, to get from the Pleasance Dome to the Pleasance Courtyard to attend Kieran Hogson's new show. The audience had already gone in by the time we arrived, but we managed to find aisle seats in the side seating area. 

This show is about his big break in Hollywood, starring as 'Sandwich Man' in the DC superhero movie, The Flash. His big scene (and only scene) is at the opening of the film. After one day, his agent, Sabrina, calls to say the producers are not happy with his performance.  They don't believe in his authenticity as an American. And so starts much soul searching about what it means to be an American, delving into Kieran's childhood, his schooldays, and later developing his talents as an actor, who's especially good at impressions and accents. What is an American voice? 

The show's storytelling has a gentle humour, and it's well-written and performed. The theme: America has always been about power, despite the historical rhetoric. The subtext is painted large at the end as one character takes over the show, dominating proceedings. You can probably guess who. 

We shuffle out to the strains of American Idiot by Green Day. 

The only things that niggled me were the noise chatter from the courtyard bleeding through the wall behind us - it occasionally distracted me from the narrative - and the seating angle became uncomfortable, making it difficult to sit straight to view the performance.   

(Star spotting two: I spot Hal Cruttenden in the Courtyard chatting with some fans after his show)

Adam Riches and John Kearns are Ball & Boe (2 x £21) 23.00 Grand at Pleasance Courtyard

It takes longer than expected to exit Kieran's show, so again, we have less time than planned to race around the corner to the Pleasance Grand for this performance.  We end up at the back of the queue, the staff diverting attendees behind us to the second entrance. I'm stressed out of my box, thinking we're going to end up stuck at the back or worse, the backside. Arse!

After having had our QR codes scanned, we're given a token to hand back upon entry. We make our way after a short wait and hear the strains of Michael Buble's Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), followed by Winter Wonderland. This show was initially staged at the Soho Theatre last Christmas, so I guessed they hadn't updated the setting. 

There are empty seats near the front at the side, so I claim them, then spot two aisle seats close by in the middle. I curse myself for taking the first ones available, then sigh with relief as I discover they were already being kept for someone. The large lady beside me shifts over one seat. I try not to take it personally.

The likes of David O'Doherty and Nish Kumar (sporting a massive backpack, not at all looking like a suicide bomber) pass us, heading up to the back. There might have been other, less well-known celebs I didn't recognise (Celya AB?), because this show has a buzz about it. Three Nights Only - this is a Fringe Event!

It would be fitting to describe it as This is the Greatest Show, as not only is that the opening number, John Kearns (as Alfie Boe) appearing from the wings and Adam Riches (as Michael Ball) starting at the top of the stairs at the back of the room, both belting out the Hugh Jackman classic, it's also repeated a number of times to increasing comic effect.

I had tears of laughter running down my face during the show. It is so funny! The performances are exquisite, suitably cheesy for Ball and morosely straight for Boe. The twinkle in their eyes during the repartee almost brings them to corpse, but they both remain committed to their parts, playing it straight within character, making it all the more funny. 

It's not just them singing. There is a plot of sorts - this is the warm-up to a planned tour, but Michael's agent has agreed to a sponsorship deal that conflicts with Boe's intended tour theme. Will their double act survive in light of these revelations, especially as the new script cuts the new, original song that Boe has written (much humour is derived from the fact that they only sing covers)? 

I can't recommend this highly enough. If you managed to get a ticket to this show (it's long sold out), you are in for the night of your life. It truly is the Greatest Show!   

Don't phone the police:
I photographed this poster in the Pleasance Dome's Gents' toilet.

elbow, Summer Nights at the Bandstand, Glasgow. Saturday 9th August, 2025

When Summer Nights announced elbow were playing two nights at the Bandstand, my wife expressed a wish to go. On the day the tickets went on sale, I forgot. Thankfully, they announced a third date as I logged in, so I managed to acquire tickets for Saturday's gig.

I am not a massive fan of the band. I'm familiar with a couple of their songs. When I try to listen to them for a prolonged period, I often have to switch them off, tiring of Guy Garvey's vocals. They're just not my thing, but I went along anyway to make a deposit in the brownie point bank, having made a number of large withdrawals recently.

I hadn't done much planning ahead of the gig. The weather threatened showers, so a raincoat seemed appropriate (I considered taking my poncho, but the absence of its carry pouch, lost at Maidstone, meant the alternative - a dog poo bag - was too embarrassing on home soil). I forgot such essentials as a cushion for the stone benches and extra layers for when the sun set. 

I found a yellow line to park upon just off Argyle Street, and we headed in just after the doors opened, finding a seat behind the empty VIP area. I took off my jacket so we could sit on it as the stone bench was wet. By the time Zoe Graham took the stage, we'd moved closer to the centre at the request of the staff, urging us to cram together (it's not a doctor's surgery). 

Zoe's parents were in the VIP area. They stood out as they were of an older generation and were both dressed smartly. Guy's sister (with two others) sat in front of us, then moved when a family of Dutch youngsters invaded, along with their parents and grandparents. We had the youngest ones in front of us.

Our view of the stage was great, until the VIPs stood up, but that wasn't until much later, during elbow's set. Zoe played solo tonight, her band consisting of a backing track machine, leaving her to do the singing and guitar licks. She was good. Again, not really my kind of music, but her Glasgow bants warmed me to her. It was her birthday too, so we all sang her that song. During one song, she promised that if we all sang along, the rain would go away, and it did.

Zoe Graham

More celebs appeared in the VIP area. Actor Brian Vernal from Gangs of London looked exactly like his character from that series (minus the blood, and very much alive). Craig Armstrong, composer, I wouldn't have known unless Guy had namechecked him. Sanjeev Kholi (Naveed from Still Game) was immediately recognisable. He's so tall, and his spectacles must have a huge prescription.

Brian Vernal

Sanjeev Kholi (sitting down)

Craig Armstrong (on the left)

elbow were magnificent. Playing as a ten-piece, including strings, brass and backing singers, they brought the love to Glasgow. Guy is like a massive teddy bear with a mellifluous voice, bestowing an aura of calm across proceedings. He's like your good-humoured, big mate from the pub, only he can sing. His songs are poetic and personal, soaring across the amphitheatre. The sound was crystal clear, far better than any gig I've attended recently. Yes, I was freezing, but the warmth of the people around me helped stifle that.

I didn't see any of my friends who were also at the gig. The structure of the space limited wandering. Having said that, one punter spent the entire evening pacing along the walkway in front of us and the VIPs, saluting the band with arms open wide, singing along. At one point, as he ran along, he high-fived the whole row. He was pissed, of course, but delightful. A happy drunk. 

On the way home, we stopped off for a warm hot chocolate and doughnuts at Tim Hortons. The night had been good, but cold. Summer Nights in Glasgow require thermals next time.

The Seldom Seen Kid

I loved how they illuminated the trees in the background

Ticket Price: £55.00 x2 = £110
£5.50 (Service Charge Full Price Ticket) x2 & £1.50 (Facility Charge Full Price Ticket) x2 = £14.00
Handling Fee (£2.95) £2.95
Total £126.95 from Ticketmaster

The Lazys, "Hot Under The Collar" Tour, Audio, Glasgow. Thursday 7th August, 2025

The Lazys are an Australian band who write their own music but draw heavy inspiration from Bon Scott's AC/DC. I'd never heard of them prior to Bob putting out the shout, but a quick listen to their material won me over. Audio seemed an apt venue for them: a sweaty dive bar with black walls and hardly any space. 

Four of us went along. The other three headed in early for a pre-gig drink and dinner. I chose to take the car and meet them later. The M8 was backed up as far as the Clyde Tunnel junction, so I took that slip road and made for the Clydeside Expressway. With "Spiderman - Brand New Day" shooting in the city centre, congestion was bad and finding a parking space nearby north of the river was nigh impossible. I ended up parked on a dingy side street on the south side.

I joined them in the pub later than anticipated, so didn't stay long. We made for the venue, arriving not long after the doors opened. We bought drinks and some merch and waited patiently for the support act as the room slowly filled up. 

Junkyard Drive are Danish and, in terms of look, covered many Scandinavian bases: a tall, long-blond-haired lead singer; a hairy, tattooed bassist who could be mistaken for a Viking; two guitarists who rocked both ends of the punk spectrum; and a drummer who sat at the back with his baseball cap reversed. This was their first performance in Glasgow.

I enjoyed them, even though I didn't know any of the songs. I couldn't make out many of the lyrics, as the sound mix tonight didn't favour the singer. What stood out to me was the incredible energy the band brought to the stage, overflowing at one point when both guitarists jumped into the crowd. 

Junkyard Drive did themselves proud and won a big tick from me. Hopefully, they'll catch a few more support slots to grow their audience here.

The Lazys' intro music was Down Under by Men at Work, setting the off-beat tone for the night ahead. Their set brought spirited humour, boundless enthusiasm, and pure rock 'n' roll energy to an appreciative crowd. 

The singer had the look of a short Tim Minchin about him. He enjoyed a laugh, too, but the music was more Whole Lotta Rosie than (Waltzing) Matilda.   

I found the bassist scary. He acted like a total psycho: one minute smiling, the next extending his tongue down his chin, then he'd go off his head, screaming at the back of the room to 'Let's f#cking go', slapping his chest and yanking at his hairline. When he later jumped into the crowd, everyone backed off as he ripped open his t-shirt at the neckline, then burst up and down the room playing his bass. Nutter!

Much friendlier was the hairy guitarist, who smiled a lot and, at one point, played his guitar on top of the bar, holding the dangling light bulbs as if he were a pilot fish. Wild guy, but not a psycho.

The set finished with T.N.T., an AC/DC cover. The singer invited the fans to join them on stage, especially if they knew the lyrics. That detail didn't deter one over-excited, bearded chap called Fraser from immediately bounding onto the stage. He may not have known the words, but he made up for it with bounces, like he had springs in his ankles. He was in fan heaven. I recorded the event for posterity (see below).

It was a good night. A nice warm-up for another Australian band in a couple of weeks. 

T.N.T. (AC/DC cover)

Setlist

When you don't have a backdrop, improvise.

Junkyard Drive

The Lazys - not Tim Michin

Psycho?

Psycho?

Psycho!

Rock N

Roll

Mischief

Ticket Price: £25 via Bob.

Edinburgh Fringe, Tuesday 5th August 2025: Larry Dean (WIP), Glesga Da F**ks Off, Ray O'Leary, Alasdair Beckett-King, Rhys Darby

Bob and I took advantage of the '2 for 1' day at the Fringe, seeing the following acts:

Larry Dean WIP £12 (12 noon) Monkey Barrel 3

A reliable start to the day, with Larry working on a set about his recent marriage. Some banging punchlines. It is going to be a brilliant show when he's finished working on it. 

Glasga Da F**ks Off £10 (15.40) Hoots @The Apex Hoots 2  

Stuart Mitchell and Raymond Mearns sign off from their podcast with a run of shows at the Fringe. An improvised hour of chat, with the veteran Mearns providing most of the banter. I was surprised by how little Stuart contributed. Lots of fans of the podcast were in the audience and were very much up for a laugh. The seating layout was a bit awkward, with entry to the rows only from the side nearest the door and hardly any room for people to get by. After the show, on the way out, I got to shake Raymond's hand as he thanked everyone for coming. 

They've ended the podcast because it made them no money. Any income they made went back out to pay for the studio, the producer, and the techies.      

Ray O'Leary: Laughter? I Hardly Know Her! £15 (18.05) Pleasance Beside

As we stood in the queue, we were informed by the ticket checker that this show would start twenty minutes later than billed. I'd left a long enough buffer between shows that this didn't matter, but others were annoyed. The previous show had started late.

Ray gave a good performance, opening with a bit where a stranger accused him of being a good role model for autism. Only he hasn't been diagnosed as autistic. Not that you'd know from the way he constantly touched his hair, face and glasses. His deadpan hour was humorous, using his slow speech pattern to good effect. When he left the stage at the end, following a scripted section involving audience participation, the girl speaker was left holding her microphone. When she looked behind the curtain to return it, Ray was already gone. 

Alasdair Beckett-King "King of Crumbs" £17 (20.00) Pleasance Dome - King

This was a fine hour of left-field humour, utilising clever sound effects, PowerPoint and stage props. Alasdair has a unique view of reality and takes us into his world. The jokes are insightful, clever, obscure and very funny.  Highly recommended.

Rhys Darby "The Legend Returns" £19 x 2 (21.20) Pleasance Courtyard - Grand

One of the finest shows I have seen at the Fringe. Rhys is concerned about AI and the imminent rise of the robots and takes us on a journey into the future, masterfully making all his own sound effects to illustrate it. The stories he physically acts out are hilarious, and the way he ties them all together at the end is brilliant. 

My only problem was seeing over the full head of hair in front of me. When Rhys stood centre stage, my view was blocked by the lush, spiky locks of the youth in front. I'd recommend getting there early to snag a seat nearer the front. 

All in all, a fantastic day at the Fringe, with five top shows for under fifty quid each (excluding transport and sustenance).