Deacon Blue "The Great Western Road Trip", OVO Hydro, Glasgow. Friday 10th October, 2025.

As I walk to the Hydro from the car, there's a blustery, chilly wind (as opposed to a chilli wind, which is far messier). Security has been ramped up at the venue with the introduction of walk-through metal detectors inside the entrance tent. I get asked to stand aside for a further check, flagged by a supercilious official. The girl dealing with these checks appears harassed. She needs to scroll through the images on her tablet until she finds me, which takes a moment due to the large number of people flowing through. She doesn't use her wand, but simply asks me what is in my pocket. I show her my wallet. She then asks what is in the other pocket. I show her my keys. "Your keys are metal," she exhales. "Go on in". No pat down, no wand scan. I show her some metal. She lets me in. It was that stupid. 

There's no problem getting in after that, and, after a quick squint at the merch, I make my way upstairs to section 207. The arena is laid out for seating, with most of the audience still to arrive. This has hardly changed when Turin Brakes take to the stage for their acoustic set. Though I'm unfamiliar with their work, I'm initially impressed, but the longer they play, the more vapid they sound. This feeling isn't helped by the chatty wags behind me, who are shouting over the music to hear each other. No class! 

     

Setlist:
Sea Change
Spacehopper
World Like That
Keep Me Around
Fishing for a Dream
Underdog (Save Me)
Pain Killer (Summer Rain)

Deacon Blue's audience is predominantly middle-aged, as you might expect for a band that started in the '80s. The response to their opening numbers, all from the new album, seemed muted due to either a lack of familiarity with the songs or because the audience was seated. It's only when Fergus Sings the Blues that they rise to their feet and come alive. Where we are near the front of the balcony, everyone remains seated (except at the end). This makes it more obvious when people need to exit the row, prompting everyone to stand to let them go to the bar or toilet. Unfortunately, this was a frequent occurrence, particularly during the new songs, of which they played ten. Maybe the venue should set up a pisshead section close to the bars and toilets for those so inclined.  

Ricky was struggling with his voice, but he used all his experience to get through the set without drawing attention to it. He was less chatty than usual, occasionally patting his chest, singing forcefully in the range he could comfortably hit, pulling out when his voice was about to crack. Lorraine bolstered the vocals more than usual to compensate. That showed how good they are as a band, as they still delivered such a great performance under these circumstances.

I wasn't so sure about the staging. They didn't own the Hydro this time. Yes, they had lighting and screens, but this performance could just as easily have been delivered in the Royal Concert Hall, with much better sound. I kept thinking back to how good they were at Oran Mor, a much more intimate performance that showcased them as people and highlighted the new songs better. 

The band paid a warm tribute to Jim Prime, who passed away recently, afterwards leaving his cap on a microphone stand to show he wasn't forgotten. Jim was such a down-to-earth character and an intrinsic part of the band that he was sadly missed. Not to detract from his replacement's performance. It just wasn't the same without him tinkling away at the back.

Despite Ricky's vocal struggles, the band played for over two hours. It was irritating to see so many audience members leave after the performance of Dignity. It wasn't exactly a mass exodus, but with two songs remaining, a noticeable chunk of the audience started making their way to the exits. I could understand this if you were on crutches or infirm, wanting to avoid the crush, but these were hipsters, youngsters, and couples. The front row in 207 was half empty by the end. I don't understand these people. You paid a lot of money for a show. Why leave before the end? It wasn't as if it was overrunning. Maybe they had wristbands that allowed them into the private bars. I dunno. 

So, a good night, if not a great one. 

Setlist:
Turn Up Your Radio!
Up Hope
Late '88
Fergus Sings the Blues
Raintown
Mid Century Modern
That's What We Can Do
Wages Day
Love and Regret
How We Remember It
Chocolate Girl/ Stone in Love with You
Twist and Shout
Ashore
Your Town
Loaded
The Believers
Underneath the Stars
When Will You (Make My Telephone Ring)
The Great Western Road
The Hipsters
Real Gone Kid
Curve of the Line
Dignity
People Come First
Keep Me in Your Heart (Warren Zevon cover)

Ticket Price: £65.00 Plus £8.80 Service Charge, plus £1.70 Facility Charge, plus Handling Fee £2.00 = £77.50 from Ticketmaster

Loaded

Dignity

The person sitting next to me asked what kind of phone I used to take the pictures and complimented the quality. Looking at the images afterwards, they are not all that great, but it's what I've got, and it's better than what I had before. 207 is quite a distance from the stage, so they're not that bad.

Mark Watson "BEFORE IT OVERTAKES US", The Stand, Glasgow. Sunday 5th October, 2025

We drove to The Stand tonight as the Glasgow SPT Subway closes early on the Sabbath*. We couldn't find any free spaces on Woodlands Road, so thanks to the nightmare temporary traffic light situation along St George's Road, it took half an hour to drive the circuit back to Napiershall Street. At least it was dry during the short walk to the venue.

Although we arrived later than I'd hoped, we were still given seats near the front, despite the room being fairly full. Just lucky, I suppose. We could have just as easily been located at the back. I don't know how they organise the seating allocation.

Neither does he.

We were warned by both the ticket checker and the manager not to talk during the performance or heckle the comedian. Not just us. They told everyone. Even Mark was informed of this when he entered the room.  

Mark opened the show standing in the middle of the audience, unmiked and unrehearsed. He described how much he loved the old Stand venue with its claustrophobic, low ceiling and conspiratorial atmosphere. "This room isn't that", he said dismissively. "But never mind. We carry on." He then pointed out the positives, such as the larger room holding more seats, which meant he'd sold more tickets. 

He was his own support act, so he rambled on, as he does, being funny about hosting the Meat Preparation Awards and how people comment to him that they couldn't do his job. That they would get too stressed, yet he finds standing on a stage talking to strangers really comfortable. It's when he meets them in real life that he finds it stressful. He also pointed out that we could talk and heckle if we wanted. He didn't mind. That's what a Glasgow crowd is famous for. He left us with a hook for the second half, telling us he'd explain who Phoebe was and how things went at this Corporate gig.

His second half was consumed by his concerns about AI. He's not happy with the company Photobox. They'd let him down at Christmas. His order of a yearbook containing photos of his kids had been delivered to the wrong address, seven miles away, a fact he discovered from his ex-wife, who was not amused at seeing images of her children being shared on social media in an attempt to locate the owner. Phoebe is the customer service manager at Photobox. It was her that Mark complained to about the disastrous outcome of his order. It was only after many communications back and forth on the live chat that he realised she wasn't real. He'd been duped into thinking she was a real person.

How far will this take us? Are humans walking blindly into obsolescence? What kind of world will we be living in under our AI overlords? 

He then pointed out all the things that AI won't be able to do better than a human, such as holding in a sneeze on the subway until you can no longer do so, then loudly saying the word "sneeze" as it comes out, ironically drawing more attention to the thing you were trying to avoid. These flaws will never be programmable. They'll set us apart from the machine. We need to embrace these idiosyncrasies if we are to remember what it is like to be human. That's where the funny lies. 

I enjoyed his sets. He's a funny man in many ways. Mark's delivery style may appear neurotic and bumbling, but he makes his brief hesitations and changes in pitch a strength, throwing out the funny lines casually but deliberately. Some of it is improvised (he had to check whether Engelbert Humperdinck was actually dead - he isn't), but he does a good job of hiding it. He initially struggled to feel at home in the space, thrown off by the gig being in a room he hadn't played before, but by the end, he was firing on all cylinders, landing his jokes well enough to give him time to sip his wine during the laughs, instead of in silence. 

On the way home, fueled by his hilarity, I wondered if the car's sat nav would ever incorporate AI. Would it be able to detect if I hadn't followed its instructions and remind me in time to change to the lane it wanted me to be in? Would it learn that I needed earlier warnings based on traffic and weather conditions? Could it tell if my windows were steaming up and automatically clear them? Would I be directed to a car wash when the windscreen was too dirty? "You have reached your destination." 

My wife didn't find this conversation amusing or interesting. She shut it down faster than I could say Ctrl+Alt+Del. But she did enjoy the comedian. How long will it be before Men and Women are leaving their partners for AI substitutes, followed by AI divorces when they realise how needy we are?

Food for thought.

 

Ticket price: £45.00 for 2
Postage: £0.00
Booking Fee: £1.60
Voucher/Credit: £0.00
VAT: £7.77
Total: £46.60 directly from The Stand.

* Grammarly wanted me to change "The Sabbath" to "Saturdays" - does that make Grammarly Jewish? 

Busted Vs McFly, OVO Hydro, Glasgow. Friday 3rd October, 2025

Back in January, I was supposed to be at the Magnum gig at the Garage, but it got cancelled due to Storm Éowyn. That gig was rescheduled to tonight, but I'd already promised to take my wife to this show, so not even Storm Amy could stop that. 

The Hydro now has a fence around it. The only open gate was located outside the centre entrance to the building. Rather annoying when your tickets give you priority access via the OVO door on the east side of the building. With the driving rain, we were glad just to get inside, regardless of which door we used. 

We didn't stop to buy merch and headed into the hall. Our seats were on the aisle in the front row of section 51. The floor layout was different to what I've experienced before, utilising a mix of standing and seated areas, the arrow-shaped stage extending into the room.

The audience was predominantly young, small, and female, with a few fathers, husbands, and boyfriends occasionally present. This allowed me a great view of the stage, albeit from a distance.

Our row was empty until about five minutes before the show started, when a family of potatoes arrived. My wife chuckled as she'd only just asked if I was happy with my seat, offering to swap, just as the mummy girl's thigh slapped down against mine, her ample frame filling her seat and part of mine. The entire family was on the large side, so the gran decided she would stand at an empty seat in section 002. Thigh girl often joined her, much to my relief.

The people directly behind us remained seated, unlike everyone around them, which made me feel uncomfortable standing. Eventually, realising no one was using the back row of 002, I crossed to that area, allowing me breathing space and ample opportunities to take pictures without upsetting anyone.  

McFly opened the show, much to the adoration of their fans. I can understand why these noughties popstars are so popular, bringing in a new generation of young fans. Their pop tunes are catchy, the band members are all charismatic in their own way, and they give a great pop/rock-lite show. Although I have an issue with the stage orientation, where each band member tended to play to their corner, the energy of the band couldn't be faulted. The harmonies were flawless. The lighting and pyros wouldn't hold a candle to a KISS show, but they gave the young ones something to remember.

Busted were minus one member as James Bourne had called off for the tour due to ill health. I wondered how his absence would affect the band's dynamic. They initially seemed lacking, making a lot of noise and giving out a lot of energy for little reward. It was as if they were trying to set themselves apart from McFly, delivering a punk performance that was edgy yet lacking in musicality. Even when they brought on another guitarist, I still didn't warm to them. They were like the support act you tolerate waiting for the headliner. In my opinion.

After this, we were treated to a drum battle between the two drummers. To be fair, this was entertaining as both drummers played the same fast-paced tune in sync. Then Matt Willis and Dougie Poynter appeared upstairs on either side of level 2 to slag one another off, splitting the hall to get them to deliver insults to the one opposite. Better that than a bass off. 

Then Charlie and Danny played together on one number before finally both bands united as McBusted for the finale. 

If I'd been a teen and this had been my first concert experience, I would be raving about this show. It gave a little of everything. But I'm not a teen and this aint my first rodeo. I have banked a considerable number of brownie points, however. Magnum would probably have been a better night for me.

Setlist:

McFly
Where Did All the Guitars Go? (McFly song)
Star Girl (McFly song)
That Girl (McFly song)
One for the Radio (McFly song)
I'll Be OK (McFly song)
Obviously (McFly song)
Room on the 3rd Floor (McFly song)
All About You (McFly song)
Transylvania / Lies (McFly song)
Red (McFly song)
The Heart Never Lies (McFly song)

Busted
Crashed the Wedding (Busted song)
Meet You There (Busted song)
Dawson's Geek / Britney / Nerdy / Why (Busted song)
You Said No (Busted song)
Loser Kid (Busted song)
Who's David (Busted song)
Sleeping With the Light On (Busted song)
Everything I Knew (Busted song)
Thunderbirds Are Go (Busted song)
What I Go to School For (Busted song)

McBusted

Drum Battle
Hate Your Guts (McBusted cover)
3am (Busted song)
Not Alone (McFly song)
Air Hostess (Busted song)
5 Colours in Her Hair (McFly song)

Encore:
What Happened to Your Band (McBusted cover)
Shine a Light (McFly song)
Year 3000 (Busted song)

Videos:

All About You - McFly

    

What I Go to School For - Busted

Five Colours in Her Hair - McFly

 
Ticket Price: from Ticketmaster

2 OVO Customer Presale Aisle Seat Ticket (enter via OVO door)
£75.00 x2 £150.00
Per Item Fees
£10.15 (Service Charge OVO Customer Presale Aisle Seat Ticket (enter via OVO door)) x2
£1.70 (Facility Charge OVO Customer Presale Aisle Seat Ticket (enter via OVO door)) x2 £23.70
Order Processing Fees
Handling Fee (£2.00) £2.00
Total £175.70

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey - Film Reaction

I don't usually record my movie-going thoughts, but the trailer for this movie beguiled me. This was the kind of imaginative romantic fantasy that I love, with odd doors and sat-navs that take you on a journey into your past. The cast was amazing, with two of the most attractive leads in the industry. I was so looking forward to seeing the film.

Then the reviews came in. The critics hated it, awarding it a low score of 42 on Metacritic, based on an aggregate of 39 reviews (as of September 29, 2025). My heart sank. Mark Kermode on his podcast kept repeating, 'it just didn't work'. I didn't bother going to see it the week it opened. Then Edith Bowman on her podcast said she enjoyed it. She accepted that the critics didn't like it, but she found it beautiful. 

So I decided to make up my own mind.  

A Monday night screening at the Showcase, Paisley, seat reclined, half a pouch of Revels to devour, I got comfy, determined to keep my eyes open despite a bout of insomnia the previous night. The cinema was practically empty with fewer than twenty audience members. When I purchased the tickets, the two seats next to me on either side were empty. The Showcase has a ticketing rule that prohibits leaving a gap of only one seat. Yet I find a gentleman with his wife sitting in the seats next but one to me. I want to tell them they are in the wrong seats, but don't. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter. Not with the cinema this empty.

The adverts are playing. Like a gentleman, he asks his wife if he has time to get them anything before the film starts. She exaggerates, advising him that he has at least an hour before the movie begins, so he heads back to the lobby, returning during the trailers with snacks and a drink. His seat hums as it moves into full reclining mode. The trailers come to an end. The film starts. Lying back, he takes a sip of his drink. And chokes, coughing all over the film opening. As he composes himself again, he informs his wife in a normal speaking voice that the liquid went down the wrong way. And chuckles, in a most irritating and loud manner.

He continues to cough intermittently during the opening sequences of the film. I lean on my elbow and cover the side of my face, blocking him from my sightline. I try to ignore him and enjoy the movie.   

Margot Robbie is beautiful. She's stylish, fun-loving and has a killer smile. Anyone would fall for her if she wanted them to. Colin Farrell is handsome, albeit with an unshaven look that hints at his character's low self-esteem. The cinematography is striking, and the music is gentle and magical. They're given umbrellas to attend a rainy wedding scene. He won't dance. We see an outsider's view of both their bedrooms, side by side, with him alone and her with a random guest. So far, so good, as romantic movie narratives go.   

Whenever anything vaguely amusing is said or a funny image is presented, the husband on my left chuckles loudly. Not as the joke is played, but after a brief delay. His late chuckling becomes a feature of his viewing pleasure and a growing irritation to me. Why does he have to be so loud? He can't help himself. It's part of who he is.

 

As the film progresses, I'm not convinced by the relationship between the two leads. It's not the direction or the script that's the problem: it's the miscasting. They don't have chemistry. There's no spark. As two characters who prefer to be alone, it could be suggested that this was the intention; however, the audience needs to feel that they should be together. The age difference is an issue. He's 47, she's 33 at the time of filming. It might have worked better if someone like Anne Hathaway had played the Sarah role. I'd have found her more convincing. Not that Margot was bad. She handled her side of the storyline perfectly well. Their character flaws may have been scripted too large for the actors to overcome. I don't know. To quote Mark Kermode again, it just didn't work.      

At the end of the film, I'm left feeling sad and disappointed that the critics were right. I can't help but overhear the husband say to his wife, "I could get used to this (in reference to the recliner). Maybe we should get one for the house." The wife replies, sincerely, "Maybe we should". They leave holding hands. Their movie-going night was joyful. 

Who is to say whose experience was right?     

Movie Trailer

Stewart Lee, "Stewart Lee vs The Man-Wulf", Theatre Royal, Glasgow. Friday 26th September, 2024.

I have a lot of time for Stewart Lee. His material can be divisive, pushing the boundaries of conventional stand-up. When he strikes comedy gold, as he usually does, the laughs are deep and plentiful as he toys with the audience, showing off how clever he is.

This show is different. Here, he's tired and jealous of the Netflix-style comedians who make a fortune by punching down on vulnerable minorities, when he, an award-winning and highly regarded comedian, cannot secure a deal with any streaming platform. He wants a taste of it and thinks he's found the perfect vehicle to explore this idea.

His set consists of three main sections: the first, his normal, alternative schtick; the second, that of a Netflix $60 million-dollar, right-wing conservative comic; and lastly, that of a Netflix $60 million-dollar comedian if they were left-wing and libertarian, finishing with a bit of waffle at the end.

Only, he wrote the show last year, and now he's lost faith in it, he explains before the show starts. Some of the references he's included haven't aged well in this crazy news cycle world in which we now live. But he can't drop them because he forked out £6k on a prop for the second half, which acts as a callback to material he has in the first half, so he's going to have to tour the show for at least two years to make his money back, otherwise the whole endeavour would have been a complete and utter waste of his time and money.

He starts the show in his teddy boy coat and performs his material straight. He mentions his love of travelling around the country, seeking out stone circles and similar sites. He's frustrated at the audience for not giving him the replies he requires to continue his material, acting up for comic effect.  He performs part of this set on a barstool in the style of Dave Allan, only he can't place one leg over the other as he's so inflexible.

As he talks about another circle he visited in Cornwall on Bodmin Moor, dry ice billows across the stage from one side. Breaking from the bit, he complains that there is supposed to be dry ice from the other side, too, and that by mucking it up, the entire setup for the next bit has been ruined. He carries in mock indignation, as he relates the incident where he was approached by a large dog standing upright on its hind legs. Cue blackout and screams. The curtain falls.

He returns in the second half, under a full moon with the face of Gregg Wallace, as Man Wulf, a Netflix $60 million-dollar, right-wing, ultra-conservative comedian, whose catchphrase is "Lick my balls, suck my dick and make me a sandwich". He's encased in a full-body werewolf suit, with massive prosthetic claws and a tiny, visible penis. He performs his set, describing all the things he hates, generating easy, reactionary laughs. He also struggles to sit in the Dave Allen stool, extending the physical aspect longer than is necessary.

Finally, he rejects the wulf persona, discards the costume, except for the head and feet and performs a Netflix $60 million-dollar set as a far-left, libertarian comedian, whose catchphrase starts as "suck my dick, lick my balls and make me a sliced avocado open-topped sandwich on sourdough bread (or something like that) then morphs into something more politically correct. 

The point is, the Right can say what they want and get away with it. The Left are held accountable for their words. As Lee admits, the hate speech is the most entertaining part of the show. He enjoyed saying it, and we enjoyed hearing it. This is the problem that today's society is facing, and he doesn't have an answer.

He finished with a glimmer of hope for the future regarding his seventeen-year-old son's activism against the far right, going into detail about every step the boy took to bring the community together. Only, he didn't do any of that. He spent all day in his room on his phone like every other teenager in the country.

That was the end of the show, except it wasn't. We were in for an extra treat. Lee had invited the local band, The Primevals, to finish the night by playing the "Man Wulf" theme. So they did. Probably the best bit of the show.

I didn't engage with Lee's material tonight. I'm not sure why. I was there on my own, wedged into my tiny stall's seat, with two ladies on either side, one of whom was also on the large side. I remained self-conscious throughout, trying to shrink myself to avoid making contact with either of them. The larger lady couldn't help but nudge me occasionally as she laughed, making a point of correcting her position to keep to her side.

His usual shtick is to use repetition for comic effect, and that was on display, but to a much lesser extent. His use of slapstick and theatrical technical errors was a new area for him, which I felt didn't work. I much prefer it when his words and reactions generate the laughs. 

Perhaps this was the first step in his transformation into a more mainstream comedian, moving further away from the club comic mentality into the theatrical. 

Ticket Price: £36.91 including £3.95 transaction fee from ATG Tickets.