Coldplay, 'Music of the Spheres' World Tour. Hampden Park, Glasgow. Tuesday 23rd August, 2022

 

I was less than excited by Coldplay's Music of the Spheres album when it came out (and still feel the same - lots of filler, only one good tune: Higher Power) but we purchased the concert tickets before its release. 

They cost a small fortune, £230 each (£242.10 after fees) for seats in the main stand opposite the stage but the cheaper, standing tickets were not an option as my wife would have had a Tuesday staff meeting after work (if she hadn't subsequently given up teaching), preventing us from arriving early enough to snag a good spot. When we saw Coldplay last time at Hampden, we'd bought the cheaper seats on the west side and we both agreed the view was less than satisfactory. Anyway, that's how I justified the expense. Plus some of the ticket money was going to charity (although Ticketmaster never asked us to tick a Gift Aid box). 

We arrived in time to see the first support act, Scottish singer-songwriter Nina Nesbitt (thanks to some power-walking from Shawlands where we'd parked). I was keen to see her as I liked her last album, The Sun Will Come up, The Seasons Will Change. She did not disappoint. As well as looking gorgeous in her yellow tartan dress, she sang beautifully and sounded great. Despite her set only lasting thirty minutes, she impressed me with how confidently she performed in front of such a large audience. She had sung there once before when she was fourteen but it was before a football international and Scotland went on to lose. She was a winner this time.

The second support act, H.E.R, was more of a mystery to me. I'd streamed a few of her tracks and they did nothing for me so I wasn't expecting to enjoy her. Coming on with her musicians and posse of backing singers, she belted out the opening numbers and I got bored. It sounded like generic R&B to me. My wife even asked me if she was singing in a foreign language because we couldn't make out the words. A large proportion of the standing crowd were loving her performance though, singing along and waving their arms in unison. She just wasn't for me.

Until she pulled out her electric guitar. 

Then the show rocked, and I mean, ROCKED. The whole stage dynamic came alive. Her cover version of Lenny Kravitz's Are You Gonna Go My Way? totally killed and she maintained the momentum until her time was up and she quickly ran off stage.

As the daylight faded, Coldplay took the stage, with pyros, fireworks, giant balloons, confetti bombs and glowing wristbands all being used to create a sensory overload to complement their music. My photos do not do justice to the overall effect but my videos (which do) have files too large for Blogger. Our seats were great for the forward B stage but we still needed to rely on the screen for the performances from the main, A stage. The C stage was miles away on our far right but the special guest was Edwyn Collins so no big loss. 

They played most of the Spheres album, finishing on Biutyful (including a performance from the puppet from the video), so I was less satisfied overall with the show than my wife who thought it was the best outdoor show she had seen (I had to remind her we'd seen Queen and Adam Lambert outdoors). The older numbers were still great and stirred the whole crowd to sing along. Was it worth the cost? Probably not. Did I enjoy the show? Definitely yes.

Chris Martin is a unique performer. I kind of wonder if he operates on a different plane of existence, one where it's normal to sing to puppets and watch stars fall from the sky like confetti. He may not be living in the same world as us but his one seems a far nicer place. It was great to spend a couple of hours with him and the band, radiating love out into the world.

Setlist

(TAPE) Light Through the Veins (Jon Hopkins song) (sustainability video intro)

(TAPE) Flying Theme (John Williams song) (from "E.T.")

(TAPE) Music of the Spheres

Higher Power

Adventure of a Lifetime

Paradise

Charlie Brown

The Scientist (with excerpts of "Oceans" in intro, and backwards outro)

B-Stage

Viva la Vida

Hymn for the Weekend

Don't Panic (piano version)

A-Stage

Politik

In My Place

Yellow

(TAPE) Sunrise (with Louis Armstrong's spoken intro speech to "What a Wonderful World")

Human Heart

People of the Pride

Clocks

Infinity Sign (shortened; with excerpts of " Music of the Spheres II" and "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall")

Something Just Like This (The Chainsmokers & Coldplay cover) (shortened; pre-recorded vocals with Chris performing in sign language + band wearing alien head)

B-Stage

Midnight (remix; contains elements of Lone's "Blue Moon Tree")

A-Stage

My Universe (Coldplay x BTS cover)

A Sky Full of Stars (restarted, asks audience to put phones away for this song - most do, but not all)

C-Stage

Sparks (with guest pedal steel guitarist Nicole Lawrence)

A Girl Like You (Edwyn Collins cover) (with Edwyn Collins) (with Nicole Lawrence)

A-Stage

Humankind

Fix You (with excerpts of "Midnight")

Biutyful

(TAPE) A Wave 

Big Country, RocknRollas, Paisley. Friday 19th August, 2022

Tonight, I realised I don't like Big Country all that much. I like their hits but the rest of the songs do nothing for me. Not that this was a bad show. Far from it. I just wasn't in the best place to enjoy it, mentally or physically (crazy, stressful day at work and my gig location was middle/back of the hall so not a great view, with the stage being low and the venue being narrow), but the band played enthusiastically and with character, although only for less than an hour and a half. 

As usual, I had my audience gripes, particularly with the guy in the "I LOVE ROCK N ROLL T-shirt, whose finger whistles triggered my tinnitus and created a Pavlov's dog situation with me covering my ears whenever I saw his fingers move towards his mouth. Inconsiderate b'stard.

No piccies as I didn't take any. No point. Couldn't see much of the stage. I had no idea what the drummer looked like until he stood up at the end.

Ticket Price £30.

Eric Martin's Big Acoustic Tour, Hard Rock Cafe, Glasgow. Sunday 7th August, 2022

Didn't know him before. Didn't want to know him afterwards. A gig not worth repeating and not worth my time writing about. Thank you, Bob, for the free ticket. At least the meal and company were good. 

Barry Manilow, Hits 2022, OVO Hydro, Glasgow. Thursday 23rd June, 2022

Barry Manilow is seventy-nine years old (well, most of him) and has been performing for longer than I have been alive. When I suggested jokingly to my wife we go see him, she surprised me by saying yes.  

Billed as Hits 2022, he certainly has enough to pick from with 12 number 1s and twenty-seven top 10s. He's regarded as the #1 Adult Contemporary Artist of all time, according to Billboard and R&R magazines. Did he live up to expectations? Well...

This audience was unlike one I'd ever experienced. These were ardent Barry fans, who perhaps don't go to many other concerts. They had to be shown by the staff how to link their drink container handles; many filmed the show with their camera light still switched on (until the battery ran out) and lots whooped when they recognised a familiar intro. Not cheered, whooped, the same kind of sound an audience makes when a quizmaster reveals the prizes. Looking around, I spotted many wrinklies and reckoned I could have made a mint selling No7 from the merch stall (though I'm not sure Boots would be happy with Barry as their new Face). There were a few younger people too who wouldn't have even been born during Barry's heyday, the 1970s.

Another audience newbie example came when, as the crowd filled, I noticed two individuals moving the location banner from in front of them so as to unblock their view, not realising said banners would be removed by the staff before the show started. I hope those people in sections 003 and 007 were suitably embarrassed.

Curtis Stigers was a good choice as support to warm up the crowd. He had a few hits in the '80s and works in a similar style to Barry, schmoozing the audience with his banter, for example, suggesting we all go buy his merch as he has a daughter to put through college, his ex-wife gaining all the royalties from his multi-million selling album in the divorce. He sang and played his saxophone as part of his jazz quartet, reimaging his tunes in this style. He's even recorded these versions for his new album, available in both CD and vinyl and all hand signed by him.

The intro to Barry's set was banging, mixing recent dance tunes with his hits as the light show pumped up the crowd building to the curtain pulling back revealing their hero. The reaction was electric, the audience on their feet singing and dancing (not those in wheelchairs).

I have to say I warmed to the night, perhaps due to the enthusiastic audience, the appreciation Barry holds for his audience and his sheer joy at performing his songs. Yes, he may move like a Thunderbird puppet and have the facial expressions of a ventriloquist dummy but his vocal control is unsurpassed and he's a pro when it comes to the audience. His songs are catchy and clever and I enjoyed hearing his stories about his early career, initially bombing but working hard till his efforts paid off.

He puts on a great show, with sing-a-longs, dance numbers, costume changes and classic songs. It wasn't a long show but it delivered what the audience wanted.

I took a few videos of the show and afterwards the two women sitting behind us wanted to know what kind of phone I had. They were impressed by the scale of my zoom. I'm not used to strangers of the female gender engaging with me, so I didn't reply "if you think that's impressive you should see the size of my... internal memory" and instead told them it was a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. My wife now wants to know if I'm approached this way at every concert I attend. She has nothing to worry about. I have a head like a fuzzy-faced, boiled egg. Only Barry fans might find that peculiarity interesting.

Afterwards, I had a good night's sleep, the first in a long, long time. It must have been due to Barry's feel-good factor.     

Ticket Price: £85 each plus per-item fees £11.50. Total £96.50 each.

Setlist

It's a Miracle

Can't Smile Without You

Stay

Somewhere in the Night

Looks Like We Made It

This One's for You

Sweet Heaven (I'm in Love Again)

Even Now

The Old Songs / Ships / Ready to Take a Chance Again / Tryin' To Get The Feeling Again

Dancing in the Aisles / Dancing in the Street / Let's Hang On

Bermuda Triangle

Could It Be Magic

I Made It Through the Rain

Mandy / Could It Be Magic

I Write the Songs (Bruce Johnston cover)

Copacabana (at the Copa)

Let Freedom Ring

It's a Miracle (Reprise)